| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is structured around three parallel clauses, each introduced by a substantival participle with the article: ho phronōn {φρονῶν | phro-Nṓn} ‘the one who regards’, ho esthiōn {ἐσθίων | es-THÍ-ōn} ‘the one who eats’, and ho mē esthiōn {ὁ μὴ ἐσθίων | ho mḗ es-THÍ-ōn} ‘the one who does not eat’. These participles function as subjects of their respective finite verbs phronei {φρονεῖ | phro-NEî} ‘considers’, esthiei {ἐσθίει | es-THÍ-ei} ‘eats’, and the second esthiei in the negative clause. The object phrase tēn hēmeran {τὴν ἡμέραν | tḗn hē-MÉ-ran} ‘the day’ appears only in the first clause but is conceptually limited to the issue of special days discussed in the broader context. In each case the dative kyriō {κυρίῳ | ky-RÍ-ō} ‘to the Lord’ is best taken as a dative of advantage or reference, expressing that the action is done in conscious orientation toward the Lord as its intended beneficiary. The postpositive conjunction gar {γὰρ | gár} links the middle clause to its explanation: eucharistei gar tō theō {εὐχαριστεῖ γὰρ τῷ θεῷ | eu-kha-ris-TEî gar tō the-Ō̂} ‘for he gives thanks to God’, grounding eating as an act of gratitude. The final clause mirrors the structure of the eating clause, showing that abstaining is likewise done kyriō {κυρίῳ | ky-RÍ-ō} ‘for the Lord’ and accompanied by thanksgiving to theō {θεῷ | the-Ō̂} ‘God’. Repetition of kai {καὶ | kaí} ‘and’ and of the verbs esthiei and eucharistei creates rhythmic parallelism that underscores the theological point: differing practices (observing a day, eating, abstaining) share the same orientation and motivation. In translation, the substantival participles are rendered as relative clauses (“the one who…,” “whoever…”) to maintain clarity, while the dative kyriō is expressed with “for the Lord” in order to capture the idea of intentional devotion rather than mere indirect object. |