λέγοντες·

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 λέγοντες·

   LE-gon-tes

   saying
2. clause🔊 Καὶ ⸂ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ⸃ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσῆλθον αὐτῷ διδάσκοντι οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ λέγοντες·

   KAI el-THON-tos au-TOO eis TO hi-e-RON pro-SÊL-thon au-TÔ di-DAS-kon-ti hoi ar-khi-e-REIS KAI hoi pres-BY-te-roi TOO la-OO LE-gon-tes

   And he having come into the temple the chief priests and the elders of the people {they} approached to him teaching saying
3. sentence🔊 Καὶ ⸂ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ⸃ εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν προσῆλθον αὐτῷ διδάσκοντι οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τοῦ λαοῦ λέγοντες· Ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ ταῦτα ποιεῖς;

   KAI el-THON-tos au-TOO eis TO hi-e-RON pro-SÊL-thon au-TÔ di-DAS-kon-ti hoi ar-khi-e-REIS KAI hoi pres-BY-te-roi TOO la-OO LE-gon-tes en POI-a ek-sou-SI-a TAU-ta poi-EIS

   And he having come into the temple the chief priests and the elders of the people {they} approached to him teaching saying By what authority you do these things

Exegesis

The participle legontes {λέγοντες | lé-gon-tes} ‘saying’ introduces the twofold interrogative: en poia exousia {Ἐν ποίᾳ ἐξουσίᾳ | en pó-i-a ex-ou-sí-á} ‘by what authority’ and tis soi edōken ten exousian tauten {τίς σοι ἔδωκεν τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην | tís soî é-dō-ken tḗn ex-ou-si-án taû-tēn} ‘who gave You this authority.’ The repeated placement of exousia at the start of each question enhances rhetorical emphasis, preserved in English by matching question structures.