| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kai {καὶ | kaí} "and" functioning as a connective, linking this citation to the sequence of earlier scriptural quotations, and palin {πάλιν | pá-lin} "again," which explicitly signals an additional supporting text in Paul's chain of evidence. The verb legei {λέγει | lé-gei} "he says" is a historical present introducing a direct quotation, likely with implicit reference to Scripture as the speaking subject. Inside the quotation, Euphranthēte {Εὐφράνθητε | Eu-phrán-thē-te} is an aorist passive imperative second person plural, conventionally rendered as a straightforward command "Rejoice," with the passive form carrying a middle or intransitive sense "be glad." The addressees are ethne {ἔθνη | éth-nē}, formally nominative or vocative neuter plural, here used vocatively in direct address, hence "O Gentiles" or "you nations." The prepositional phrase meta tou laou autou {μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ | me-tà toû laoû autoû} expresses association, "with His people," where laou {λαοῦ | laoû} "people" stands for Israel as the covenant community, and autou {αὐτοῦ | autoû} "His" refers to God as the one who owns this people. Syntactically, the nations are summoned to share in the joy of God's people rather than remain in contrast to them, so the preposition meta highlights inclusion and solidarity. In translation, the formal rendering preserves the direct-vocative structure ("Rejoice, O Gentiles") and the explicit mention of "His people," maintaining the liturgical tone of the quotation. The dynamic rendering reshapes the imperative into "Let the nations celebrate together with His people," making the communal aspect of rejoicing explicit and using "celebrate" to convey public, shared joy in contemporary idiom while still reflecting the aorist imperative force. |