| 35. Linguistic Exegesis The Greek begins with the participle labontes {λαβόντες | labóntes} “having taken,” forming a participial clause that sets the stage for the actions. The subject is marked by the article and noun hoi georgoi {οἱ γεωργοὶ | hoì geōrgòi} “the farmers,” while the article and noun tous doulous {τοὺς δούλους | toùs doúlous} serve as the direct object, and autou {αὐτοῦ | autoû} “of him” indicates possession. A sequence of relative pronouns hon {ὃν | hòn} links each of the three verbs, and the particles men…de…de function as classical markers to enumerate and contrast these actions. The verbs edeiran {ἔδειραν | édeiran}, apekteinan {ἀπέκτειναν | apékteinan}, and elithobolesan {ἐλιθοβόλησαν | elithobólēsan} are all aorist active indicatives third person plural, underlining their completed and decisive nature. The English translations preserve the distributive structure with “one…another…yet another” to mirror the original. |