| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the genitive absolute construction arxamenou… autou synairein {ἀρξαμένου δὲ αὐτοῦ συναιρεῖν | arxaménou de autou synaireîn}, where the aorist participle and genitive pronoun form a circumstantial clause best rendered “as he began.” The infinitive synairein specifies the precise activity of settling accounts. The main verb prosēnechthē {προσηνέχθη | prosēnéchthē} is aorist passive, shifting focus to the event of the debtor’s presentation. The dative autō {αὐτῷ | autō} marks the indirect object “to him,” indicating the authority before whom the case is heard. The nominative heis opheilētēs {εἷς ὀφειλέτης | heis opheilétēs} introduces a single obligated individual, and the genitive myriōn talantōn {μυρίων ταλάντων | myriōn talantōn} conveys the staggering size of the claim. In English, the genitive absolute is rendered temporally and “owed” makes the indebtedness explicit to preserve narrative clarity and underscore the gravity of the debt. |