| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence opens with the adverb amēn {ἀμὴν | a-mēn}, placed first to give solemn emphasis, followed by gar {γὰρ | gar}, which connects this assurance to the preceding explanation of parables. The first-person verb legō {λέγω | le-gō} together with the dative hymin {ὑμῖν | hy-mīn} forms a direct-address formula, after which hoti {ὅτι | ho-ti} introduces the content clause of what is said. Within that clause, the compound subject polloi prophētai kai dikaioi {πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι | pol-loi pro-phē-tai kai di-kai-oi} precedes the aorist verb epethymēsan {ἐπεθύμησαν | e-pe-thy-mē-san}, placing focus on the many prophetic and righteous figures of Israel’s past. The infinitives idein {ἰδεῖν | i-dein} and akousai {ἀκοῦσαι | a-kou-sai} function as complementary infinitives to epethymēsan, expressing the content of their longing. Each infinitive is followed by a relative clause introduced by ha {ἃ | ha}; within these clauses, the present-tense verbs blepete {βλέπετε | ble-pe-te} and akouete {ἀκούετε | a-kou-e-te} describe what the current hearers are now experiencing. The paired negated clauses with ouk {οὐκ | ouk} plus the aorists eidan {εἶδαν | ei-dan} and ēkousan {ἤκουσαν | ē-kou-san} form a carefully balanced antithesis: the earlier prophets and righteous earnestly desired these experiences but did not have them, whereas the disciples now do. The translations preserve this structure by keeping the solemn introductory formula, mirroring the parallelism of “to see … and to hear …,” and maintaining the contrast between past unfulfilled desire and present realized privilege. |