Matthew 20:17 — ExegesisTAB

The verse opens with kai {Καὶ | Kaí} “and,” linking this scene with the preceding narrative and functioning as a discourse connector. The participle anabainon {ἀναβαίνων | anabaínōn} “going up” precedes the subject and forms a circumstantial participial clause, indicating action contemporaneous with the main verb; it is best rendered with a finite verb in English (“was going up”) to preserve the ongoing motion. The subject ho Iesous {ὁ Ἰησοῦς | ho Iēsous} “Jesus” is explicitly stated, giving prominence to His deliberate movement toward the climactic setting. The prepositional phrase eis Hierosolyma {εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα | eis Hierosólyma} specifies the destination “into Jerusalem,” a theologically charged locale that anticipates the Passion narrative. The main clause centers on parelaben tous dodeka mathetas {παρέλαβεν τοὺς δώδεκα μαθητὰς | parélaben toús dṓdeka mathētás} “He took the twelve disciples aside,” where the aorist verb parelaben presents a completed, decisive act. The object is defined both by article and numeral, emphasizing the particular group “the twelve disciples.” The phrase kat idian {κατʼ ἰδίαν | katá idían} functions adverbially to describe manner, underscoring the privacy of the instruction. A second kai {καὶ | kaí} coordinates another circumstantial setting: en te hodo {ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ | en tē hodō̂} “on the way,” which combines spatial and narrative progression imagery. The concluding clause eipen autois {εἶπεν αὐτοῖς | eîpen autoîs} “He said to them” introduces forthcoming discourse; its aorist form aligns with parelaben to depict a sequence of actions within the same scene. In translation, the participial construction is represented with “as” / “while” clauses to reflect simultaneity, and the prepositional phrases are kept close to their verbs to retain the narrative flow. The privacy nuance of kat idian is captured with “aside privately” and “away from the others,” and the phrase en te hodo is conceptually expanded as “on the way” / “along the road” to make the setting vivid while maintaining the underlying Greek structure.