| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The causal phrase dia touto {διὰ τοῦτο | dià toû-to} ‘because of this’ connects back to Paul’s argument about governing powers. The conjunction gar {γὰρ | gàr} signals explanatory emphasis. The act teleite phorous {τελεῖτε φόρους | te-leî-te phó-rous} ‘you pay taxes’ follows as a logical consequence. The clause leitourgoi theou eisin {λειτουργοὶ θεοῦ εἰσιν | lei-tour-goí the-oû eî-sin} foregrounds the subject with the genitive indicating divine commission. The final prepositional-participial segment eis auto touto proskarterountes {εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο προσκαρτεροῦντες | eis autò toû-to pros-kar-te-roûn-tes} uses a double demonstrative to intensify focus, and the participle portrays continual devotion, rendered in English as a finite clause to preserve durative explanatory force. |