| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative particle and verb ὁ δὲ ἔφη {ὁ δὲ ἔφη | ho dè é-phē}, where the subject is the understood master from the broader context, and ephē functions as a speech-introducing verb followed by the indirect object αὐτοῖς {αὐτοῖς | au-toîs} “to them.” The predicate Ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος {Ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος | ékh-thros án-thrō-pos} places the noun “enemy” first for emphasis, with “man” in apposition, clarifying that the harm comes through a human agent. The clause τοῦτο ἐποίησεν {τοῦτο ἐποίησεν | toû-to e-poí-ē-sen} uses the demonstrative object “this” before the aorist verb “did,” yielding a compact, completed-action statement. A new clause begins with the subject phrase οἱ δὲ δοῦλοι {οἱ δὲ δοῦλοι | hoi dè doû-loi}, shifting focus to “the servants,” with δὲ marking contrastive progression. The present tense λέγουσιν {λέγουσιν | lé-gou-sin} portrays their speech as immediate and vivid. Within their question, Θέλεις οὖν {Θέλεις οὖν | Thé-leis oun} puts the master’s will in the foreground, while the participle ἀπελθόντες {ἀπελθόντες | a-pel-THÓN-tes} functions temporally (“when we go”) or manner-wise, linked to the main subjunctive verb συλλέξωμεν {συλλέξωμεν | syl-LÉ-ksō-men} “should we gather,” which expresses a respectful proposal or request for permission. In translation, the appositional “enemy—a man” construction is preserved to retain the Greek emphasis on a personal hostile agent, and the participle-plus-subjunctive sequence is rendered as “go and gather/pull them up,” maintaining the sense of a suggested course of action. |