| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional protasis ean {ἐάν | e-án} ‘if’ introducing a third-class condition and the aorist subjunctive hamartē {ἁμάρτῃ | ha-már-tē} ‘should sin’ as a potential action. The prepositional phrase eis se {εἰς σέ | eis sé} ‘against you’ identifies the offended party. The subject ho adelphos sou {ὁ ἀδελφός σοῦ | ho a-del-phós soû} ‘your brother’ locates the scenario within the community. The coordinated imperatives hypage elegxon {ὕπαγε ἔλεγξον | hý-pa-ge é-leng-khon} ‘go and reprove’ combine directive motion with corrective confrontation. The phrase metaxy sou kai autou monou {μεταξύ σοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου | me-ta-xú soû kaí au-toû mó-nou} ‘between you and him alone’ emphasizes private engagement through an improper preposition with genitives and the substantive mó-nou for exclusivity. A second protasis ean se akousē {ἐὰν σέ ἀκούσῃ | e-án sé a-koús-ē} ‘if he listens to you’ uses the aorist subjunctive to denote a decisive act of hearing. The apodosis ekerdēsas ton adelphon sou {ἐκέρδησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σοῦ | e-kér-dē-sas tón a-del-phón soû} ‘you have gained your brother’ presents a completed result with a commercial metaphor. The sequential structure preserves the priority of private reproof and the outcome metaphor of relational gain. |