εἰσιν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 εἰσιν

   EI-sin

   are
2. sentence🔊 ὁ δὲ ἀγρός ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος τὸ δὲ καλὸν σπέρμα οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας τὰ δὲ ζιζάνιά εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ

   ho de a-GROS ES-tin ho KOS-mos to de ka-LON SPER-ma hou-TOI EI-sin hoi hy-oi tês ba-si-LEI-as ta de dzi-DZA-ni-a EI-sin hoi hy-oi tou po-nê-ROU

   the and field is the world the and good seed these are the sons of the kingdom the and weeds are the sons of the evil one

Exegesis

The second clause begins with the neuter articular phrase to de kalon sperma {τὸ δὲ καλὸν σπέρμα | tò dè ka-lón spé-rma} functioning as the subject, followed by the demonstrative houtoi {οὗτοί | hoú-toi} and the copula eisin {εἰσιν | eí-sin}; together they form an explanatory apposition, “the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom.”

The third clause mirrors the second in structure: ta de zizania {τὰ δὲ ζιζάνιά | tà dè zi-zá-ni-a} as the neuter subject, eisin {εἰσιν | eí-sin} as the copula, and hoi huioi tou ponērou {οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ | hoi hu-ioí tou po-nē-rou} as the predicate nominative, with tou ponērou {τοῦ πονηροῦ | tou po-nē-rou} as a substantival genitive “of the evil one.” The repetition of the structure “the good seed … the sons of the kingdom” and “the weeds … the sons of the evil one” creates strong parallelism, highlighting two distinct groups defined by their ultimate allegiance. In English, this parallelism and the equative relationships are preserved with copular constructions (“is,” “are”) and coordinated clauses joined by “and” and “but,” while retaining the metaphorical terminology (“field,” “seed,” “tares/weeds”) to keep the parabolic imagery intact.