| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the emphatic declaration legō {λέγω | légō} ‘I say’, using the conjunction hoti {ὅτι | hóti} to introduce the content clause that reinterprets prophetic expectation. The aorist ēlthen {ἦλθεν | ḗl-then} ‘came’ marks a completed event regarding Ēlias {Ἠλίας | Ē-lí-as}. The paired aorist verbs epegnōsan {ἐπέγνωσαν | e-pe-gnō-san} ‘they recognized’ and epoiēsan {ἐποίησαν | e-poi-ē-san} ‘they did’ summarize past hostility. The relative clause hosa ēthelēsan {ὅσα ἠθέλησαν | hó-sa ē-thé-lē-san} ‘whatever they wanted’ emphasizes unrestrained mistreatment within the prepositional phrase en autō {ἐν αὐτῷ | en au-tō̂}, marking its target. The adverb houtōs {οὕτως | hoú-tōs} ‘thus’ introduces the typology of the Son of Man, where mellei paschein {μέλλει πάσχειν | mél-lei pás-khein} ‘is about to suffer’ conveys certainty and hyp’ autōn {ὑπʼ αὐτῶν | hyp’ au-tôn} indicates human agency. |