οὗ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 οὗ

   HOO

   whom
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ⸀ἀνθρώπῳ διʼ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται.

   PLÊN oo-AI TÔI an-THRÔ-poi di HOO TO SKAN-da-lon ER-khe-tai

   but Woe to the man through whom the stumbling block {It} comes
3. clause🔊 ἀνάγκη ⸀γὰρ ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα, πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ⸀ἀνθρώπῳ διʼ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται.

   a-NANG-kê GAR el-THEIN TA SKAN-da-la PLÊN oo-AI TÔI an-THRÔ-poi di HOO TO SKAN-da-lon ER-khe-tai

   for it is necessary the stumbling blocks to come but Woe to the man through whom the stumbling block {It} comes
4. sentence🔊 οὐαὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων· ἀνάγκη ⸀γὰρ ἐλθεῖν τὰ σκάνδαλα, πλὴν οὐαὶ τῷ ⸀ἀνθρώπῳ διʼ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται.

   oo-AI TÔI KOS-môi a-PO TÔN skan-DA-lôn a-NANG-kê GAR el-THEIN TA SKAN-da-la PLÊN oo-AI TÔI an-THRÔ-poi di HOO TO SKAN-da-lon ER-khe-tai

   Woe to the world because of the stumbling blocks for it is necessary the stumbling blocks to come but Woe to the man through whom the stumbling block {It} comes

Exegesis

A second ouai addresses tō anthrōpō {τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ | tô anthrōpō}, and the relative clause di’ hou to skandalon erchetai {δι’ οὗ τὸ σκάνδαλον ἔρχεται} specifies the individual through whom the stumbling-block arrives. The repetition of ouai and the parallel terms skandalon/skandala form a chiastic emphasis contrasting universal inevitability with individual culpability. The English renderings preserve this structure by maintaining parallel pronouncements of judgment and by distinguishing general necessity from personal responsibility.

Root and etymology

ouai🔊 οὐαὶomicron–upsilon–alpha–iota

“cry of grief, woe”