λέγετε

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 λέγετε

   LE-ye-te

   {you} say
2. clause🔊 Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;

   hy-MEIS DE TEE-na ME LE-ye-te EI-nai

   but You who {you} say me to be
3. sentence🔊 λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι;

   LE-yei au-TOIS hy-MEIS DE TEE-na ME LE-ye-te EI-nai

   He says to them but You who {you} say me to be

Exegesis

The interrogative phrase tina me legete einai {τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι | tí-na me lé-ge-te eî-nai} places tina “whom” and me “me” as objects of legete “you say,” with einai “to be” as the complementary infinitive. The literal word order (“whom do you say me to be”) is rendered naturally as “who do you say that I am,” preserving both the emphatic position of “you” and the force of the question.