| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with a double inferential marker, ara {ἄρα | á-ra} followed by oun {οὖν | oûn}, signaling a strong logical conclusion within Paul’s argument about not causing a brother or sister to stumble. The first object of the hortatory subjunctive diokomen {διώκωμεν | di-ṓ-kō-men} is the accusative phrase ta tēs eirenēs {τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης | tà tês eirḗnēs}, literally “the things of peace,” where the neuter plural article ta is qualified by the genitive eirenēs, indicating matters characterized by or belonging to peace. Parallel to this, the second object is ta tēs oikodomēs {τὰ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς | tà tês oikodomês}, “the things of the edification,” again using a neuter plural article with a genitive abstract noun to denote all that contributes to corporate strengthening. The following phrase tēs eis allēlous {τῆς εἰς ἀλλήλους | tês eis allḗlous} has the article tēs turning the prepositional phrase eis allēlous into an attributive qualifier of oikodomēs, specifying the direction of that edification as being “for one another,” that is, mutually oriented within the community. Syntactically, the single subjunctive verb governs both accusative objects, producing a balanced structure that binds together peace and mutual edification as inseparable pursuits. In English, this is best reflected by maintaining the parallelism (“the things that make for peace … and the things of edification”) while making explicit the relational aim (“for one another”), preserving both the logical force of the exhortation and its communal focus. |