Mark 12:14 — ExegesisTAB

The sentence begins with the aorist participle elthontes {ἐλθόντες | elthóntes} ‘having come’, which functions temporally and sets the scene for the main present-tense verb legousin {λέγουσιν | légousin} ‘they say’, giving vividness to the narrative. The dative pronoun autō {αὐτῷ | autō̂} ‘to him’ specifies the indirect object of their speech, and the vocative Didaskale {Διδάσκαλε | Didáskale} ‘Teacher’ marks respectful direct address while also framing the flattery. The clause introduced by hoti {ὅτι | hóti} ‘that’ reports their assertion: the predicate adjective alēthēs {ἀληθής | alēthḗs} ‘true’ linked with ei {εἶ | eî} ‘you are’ emphasizes Jesus’ character. The impersonal construction ou melei soi peri oudenos {οὐ μέλει σοι περὶ οὐδενός | ou mélei soi perí oudenós} ‘it is not a concern to you about anyone’ presents His lack of partiality, which is then further explained by the idiom ou blepeis eis prosōpon anthrōpōn {οὐ βλέπεις εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων | ou blépeis eis prósōpon anthrṓpōn} ‘you do not look at the face of people’, meaning He does not judge by external status. The adversative all' ep' alētheias {ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ ἀληθείας | all' ep' alētheías} ‘but upon truth’ sets a sharp contrast, with the prepositional phrase modifying the following clause tēn hodon tou theou didaskeis {τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ θεοῦ διδάσκεις | tḗn hodón tou theoû didáskeis} ‘you teach the way of God’, where the object ‘way of God’ depicts a manner of life aligned with God’s will. The impersonal verb exestin {ἔξεστιν | éxestin} introduces a legal-ethical question, governing the infinitive dounai {δοῦναι | doûnai} ‘to give’ with its object kēnson {κῆνσον | kênson} ‘tribute’ and indirect object Kaisari {Καίσαρι | Kaísari} ‘to Caesar’. The alternative ou {οὔ | oú} ‘not’ forms a polar question, reinforced by the balanced subjunctive pair dōmen … ē mē dōmen {δῶμεν … ἢ μὴ δῶμεν | dômen … ē mḗ dômen} ‘should we give … or should we not give’, creating rhetorical symmetry. In translation, this structure is preserved by maintaining the initial temporal clause, the reported speech with its character description, and the parallelism of the final either–or question to reflect the testing nature of their inquiry.