| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The sentence begins with the article and conjunction ho de {ὁ δὲ | ho dé}, where the postpositive de links this saying to the preceding context with a mild adversative sense, here best rendered “but” or “instead.” The adjective meizon {μείζων | meízōn} functions substantively, “the one who is greater,” and is modified by the genitive humon {ὑμῶν | hymôn}, a partitive genitive indicating “the greater one from among you.” The future verb estai {ἔσται | éstai} is a predictive statement rather than a simple command, portraying what true greatness will look like in the community. The repetition of humon {ὑμῶν | hymôn} after the verb (“will be of you”) underscores that the “greater” person still belongs to the same group and is not above it. The predicate nominative diakonos {διάκονος | diákonos} defines the role that true greatness assumes, a servant or attendant who actively cares for others. English reverses the more compact Greek structure by making explicit “the one who is greater among you” as the subject and “will be your servant” as the predicate, preserving the focus on the paradox of greatness expressed through service. |