| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conjunction kai {καὶ | kaí} linking this saying to the preceding rebuke, followed by the temporal frame proi Sḗmeron {πρωΐ Σήμερον | prō-ï Sḗ-me-ron} indicating “in the morning, today.” The noun cheimōn {χειμών | khei-mṓn} with the verb pyrrazei {πυρράζει | pyr-rá-zei} forms direct speech to predict weather: “There will be a storm, for the sky is red.” The participle stygnazōn {στυγνάζων | sty-gná-zōn}, modifying ho ouranos {ὁ οὐρανός | ho ou-ra-nós}, intensifies the sky’s threatening aspect. A contrastive men…de structure sets up parallel objects: ginōskete diakrinein to men prosōpon tou ouranou {γινώσκετε διακρίνειν τὸ μὲν πρόσωπον τοῦ οὐρανοῦ | gi-nṓ-ske-te di-a-krí-nein tó mén pró-sō-pon tou ou-ra-noû} “you know how to interpret the face of the sky,” versus ta de semeia tōn kairōn {τὰ δὲ σημεῖα τῶν καιρῶν | tá dé sē-meî-a tôn kai-rôn} “but the signs of the times” with ou dynasthe {οὐ δύνασθε | ou dý-na-sthe} marking inability. The Greek leaves the second infinitive implicit, relying on parallelism. This shift from concrete weather-reading to failure in spiritual discernment underscores Jesus’s rebuke. |