| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the aorist participle peson {πεσὼν | pesṓn} ‘having fallen’, functioning as a circumstantial participle that sets the scene for the servant’s response. The inferential conjunction oun {οὖν | oûn} then links this action to the servant’s plea. The noun phrase ho doulos {ὁ δοῦλος | ho doû-los} is the syntactic subject, with the imperfect verb prosekunei {προσεκύνει | prosekýnei} ‘was prostrating’ describing an ongoing posture of submission directed to the dative pronoun auto {αὐτῷ | autô}. The participle legon {λέγων | légōn} ‘saying’ introduces the content of his appeal, which is expressed by the aorist imperative Makrothymeson {Μακροθύμησον | Makrothýmēson} ‘have patience’ and the prepositional phrase ep emoi {ἐπ’ ἐμοί | ep emoí} ‘with me’. The coordinating kai {καὶ | kaí} connects the plea to the servant’s future promise marked by the verb apodoso {ἀποδώσω | apodṓsō} ‘I will repay’, with the accusative panta {πάντα | pánta} ‘all things’ preposed for emphasis, and the dative soi {σοι | soi} ‘to you’ indicating the recipient. This structure highlights the servant’s humiliating posture followed by an urgent petition and a vow of full restitution. |