αὐτῶν

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 αὐτῶν

   au-TÔN

   their
2. clause🔊 πλατύνουσι ⸀γὰρ τὰ φυλακτήρια αὐτῶν καὶ μεγαλύνουσι τὰ ⸀κράσπεδα,

   pla-TY-nou-si GAR TA phy-lak-TÊ-ri-a au-TÔN KAI me-ga-LY-nou-si TA KRAS-pe-da

   for broaden their the phylacteries and lengthen the fringes
3. sentence🔊 πάντα δὲ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν ποιοῦσιν πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· πλατύνουσι ⸀γὰρ τὰ φυλακτήρια αὐτῶν καὶ μεγαλύνουσι τὰ ⸀κράσπεδα,

   PAN-ta DE TA ER-ga au-TÔN poi-OU-sin PROS TO the-a-THÊ-nai TOIS an-THRÔ-pois pla-TY-nou-si GAR TA phy-lak-TÊ-ri-a au-TÔN KAI me-ga-LY-nou-si TA KRAS-pe-da

   but all their the deeds do for to be seen the people for broaden their the phylacteries and lengthen the fringes

Exegesis

The verse opens with panta de ta erga autōn poiousin {πάντα δὲ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν ποιοῦσιν | pán-ta dè tà ér-ga au-tôn poi-oû-sin} “they do all their works,” where the fronted panta “all” gives prominence to the comprehensive extent of their behavior.

The second clause, introduced by gar {γὰρ | gar} “for,” provides an explanation of the preceding assertion through two coordinated present verbs: platynousin ta phylaktēria autōn kai megalynousin ta kraspeda {πλατύνουσι γὰρ τὰ φυλακτήρια αὐτῶν καὶ μεγαλύνουσι τὰ κράσπεδα | pla-tý-nou-sin gar tà phu-lak-tḗ-ri-a au-tôn kai me-ga-lý-nou-sin tà krá-spe-da}. These durative presents depict habitual practices, and the parallel objects “phylacteries” and “tassels” highlight the external, visible aspects of their piety. In translation, the causal connection is retained with “for,” while the sequence “do … to be seen … make broad … enlarge” mirrors the Greek flow from motive to concrete, visual expressions of religious display.