| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the nominative subject phrase hoi emporoi {οἱ ἔμποροι | hoí ém-por-oi} ‘the merchants’, immediately followed by an appositional participial phrase hoi ploutesantes {οἱ πλουτήσαντες | hoí ploutḗsantes} ‘those who became rich’, which specifies which merchants are in view. The prepositional phrase ap autes {ἀπʼ αὐτῆς | ap autês} ‘from her’ marks the city as the source of their enrichment. The subsequent prepositional phrase apo makrothen {ἀπὸ μακρόθεν | apó makróthen} ‘from afar’ functions adverbially with the main verb stesontai {στήσονται | stḗsontai} ‘they will stand’, portraying physical and emotional distance. The causal prepositional phrase dia ton phobon tou basanismou autes {διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς | diá tòn phóbon toû basanismoû autês} explains the reason for this stance: fear arising from her torment. Finally, the present participles klaiontes kai penthountes {κλαίοντες καὶ πενθοῦντες | klaíontes kaí penthoûntes} function circumstantially, depicting ongoing, simultaneous actions of weeping and mourning that accompany their standing at a distance. The English renderings preserve this structure by maintaining the central finite verb, treating the participles as descriptive of the merchants’ continuous response, and expressing the causal force of dia with “because of” in the formal and an affective rephrasing in the dynamic. |