Matthew 22:43 — ExegesisTAB

The verse begins with legei {λέγει | lé-gei} ‘he says,’ a historical present that vividly places the reader in the scene, followed by the indirect object autois {αὐτοῖς | au-toîs} ‘to them,’ identifying the audience as those being challenged. The interrogative adverb Pōs {Πῶς | Pôs} ‘how’ introduces a rhetorical question, while oun {οὖν | oun} ‘then’ signals logical inference from the preceding discussion about the Messiah. The subject Dauid {Δαυίδ | Dau-íd} is fronted before the prepositional phrase en pneumati {ἐν πνεύματι | en pneú-ma-ti} ‘in spirit,’ which functions adverbially to mark the sphere or agency of David’s speech, highlighting it as Spirit-inspired and thus authoritative. The main verb kalei {καλεῖ | ka-leî} ‘he calls’ governs the object auton {αὐτόν | au-tón} ‘Him’ and the predicate accusative kyrion {κύριον | ký-ri-on} ‘Lord,’ forming an object–complement construction that ascribes the title ‘Lord’ to the one addressed. The participle legōn {λέγων | lég-ōn} ‘saying’ is circumstantial, introducing the direct quotation that will follow in the next verse and tightly linking David’s Spirit-inspired speech to the Christological claim Jesus is making. In translation, the logical connector ‘then’ and the historical present ‘he says’ are rendered with natural narrative English while preserving the interrogative force and the emphasis on David’s inspired confession.