| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse consists of two balanced conditional-like clauses introduced by hostis {ὅστις | hóstis} ‘whoever’, forming a tight antithetical parallelism. The postpositive de {δὲ | dé} connects this saying to the preceding discourse while allowing it to stand as a proverbial statement. In the first clause, hupsosei heauton {ὑψώσει ἑαυτόν | hypsṓsei heautón} presents a future action of self-exaltation, with the reflexive pronoun marking the subject as both agent and affected party of the initial action. The consequence is expressed by the future passive verb tapeinothēsetai {ταπεινωθήσεται | tapeinōthḗsetai}, indicating that another (implicitly God or a higher authority) will bring this person low. The coordinating conjunction kai {καὶ | kaí} introduces the mirror image: tapeinōsei heauton {ταπεινώσει ἑαυτόν | tapeinṓsei heautón} describes deliberate self-humbling, followed by the future passive hupsthēsetai {ὑψωθήσεται | hypsōthḗsetai}, again implying an external exalting agent. The chiastic reversal of active and passive verbs between the two halves intensifies the moral principle of reversal. In translation, the future tenses are preserved to retain the proverbial promise or warning, and the reflexive structure “humble himself / exalt himself” is maintained to highlight personal responsibility leading to divinely governed outcomes. |