| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the neuter interrogative ti {τί | tí} “what,” introducing a rhetorical question. The postpositive conjunction gar {γὰρ | gàr} “for” connects to the prior teaching, supplying the reason. The future passive indicative ōphelēthēsetai {ὠφεληθήσεται | ō-phe-lē-thé-se-tai} “will be benefited” serves as the main verb with the generic subject anthrōpos {ἄνθρωπος | án-thro-pos} “man.” The conditional protasis uses the particle ean {ἐὰν | e-an} “if,” governing the aorist subjunctive kerdḗsē {κερδήσῃ | ker-dḗ-sē} “should gain,” whose object is the accusative phrase tòn kósmos hólon {τὸν κόσμον ὅλον | tòn kós-mon hó-lon} “the whole world.” The adversative dè {δὲ | dè} “but” introduces the apodosis, highlighting the contrast between worldly gain and spiritual loss through the aorist passive subjunctive zēmiōthḗ {ζημιωθῇ | zē-mi-ō-thḗ} “might forfeit” with object tḗn psuchḗn autoû {τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ | tḗn psu-chḗn au-toû} “his soul.” The second parallel question is signaled by ḕ {ἢ | ḕ} “or,” with the future indicative dṓsei {δώσει | dṓ-sei} “will give” and its object the accusative antállagma {ἀντάλλαγμα | an-tál-lag-ma} “exchange” governed by the genitive tês psuchês autoû {τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ | tês psu-chḗs au-toû}. This parallelism underscores the spiritual priority over material acquisition. |