Not that I speak from need; for I have learned to be content in the circumstances in which I am.
οὐχ ὅτι… λέγω: Clarifying MotivePaul opens this sentence with a familiar construction:
– οὐχ ὅτι — literally “not that…” This is an idiom used to deny a misunderstanding of what was just said. – καθ’ ὑστέρησιν — “according to need” or “from a place of lack.” The preposition κατά with the accusative implies cause or standard. – λέγω — “I say” (present active indicative of λέγω).… Learn Koine Greek
I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored in vain for you.
Labor in Doubt: Literary and Theological Context of Galatians 4:11This terse yet potent verse reveals the emotional undercurrent of Paul’s rebuke to the Galatians. Following his astonishment at their regression to “weak and beggarly elements” (Gal. 4:9), Paul now expresses fear—not for his own reputation, but for the possibility that his labor among them has been rendered fruitless. The Greek syntax captures Paul’s pastoral anxiety through verbal aspect, particles of uncertainty, and final prepositional phrasing. Galatians 4:11 thus embodies not only theological concern, but rhetorical urgency encoded in grammar.… Learn Koine Greek
Do not speak against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother and judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Slander as Judgment of the LawJames issues a stark ethical and theological warning against slander among believers:
Μὴ καταλαλεῖτε ἀλλήλων, ἀδελφοί… “Do not speak against one another, brothers…”
He then explains that slandering a brother is functionally equivalent to judging the law itself, a bold theological statement that reverses the moral posture of the speaker: from obedient doer to presumptuous judge.… Learn Koine Greek
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one may fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
Let Us Strive: Literary and Theological Context of Hebrews 4:11This verse brings to a close a major exhortation in Hebrews 3–4 concerning God’s rest, drawing on Psalm 95 to warn believers against the hardening of heart and failure to enter the promised rest. The grammar intensifies this exhortation with a strong hortatory subjunctive, purpose clause, and vivid reference to Israel’s historical failure.… Learn Koine Greek
Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—in this name this man stands before you healthy.
Healing in the Name: Literary and Theological Context of Acts 4:10This verse constitutes the theological climax of Peter’s defense before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4, immediately following the healing of the lame man and the questioning of the apostles’ authority (Acts 4:7–9).… Learn Koine Greek
But now that you have come to know God—or rather to be known by God—how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and miserable elemental things, to which you want to be enslaved all over again?
From Knowledge to Bondage: Literary and Theological Context of Galatians 4:9This verse is situated in Paul’s passionate theological appeal to the Galatians to resist turning back to the Law after having received the gospel of grace.… Learn Koine Greek
If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a sick man, by what means this one has been healed,
Standing Trial for Kindness: Literary and Theological Context of Acts 4:9This verse opens Peter’s response before the Sanhedrin following the miraculous healing of a lame man (Acts 3:1–10). The leaders’ interrogation (Acts 4:7) prompts a Spirit-filled answer (v. 8) that reframes the legal proceedings as a trial of divine goodness. The syntax of Acts 4:9 uses a conditional clause and a rhetorical question to create both irony and theological setup.… Learn Koine Greek
Already you are filled, already you have become rich, you have begun to reign without us; and would that you did reign, so that we might also reign with you.
Reigning Without Us: Literary and Theological Context of 1 Corinthians 4:8This verse falls within Paul’s biting rhetorical critique of the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 4:6–13. After exposing the pride and self-sufficiency of the Corinthians, Paul turns to irony, contrasting their triumphalism with the apostles’ suffering and marginalization. The grammatical structures in this verse intensify the rhetorical strategy: perfects to suggest completed self-satisfaction, aorists to express isolated acts, and a wish construction to frame eschatological hope.… Learn Koine Greek
Again the devil takes him along to a very high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Adverb of Repetition: ΠάλινThe adverb Πάλιν means “again” and marks the continuation of a sequence of temptations. In narrative Koine Greek, it often introduces repeated or resumed actions and enhances narrative flow and structure.
Main Verb: παραλαμβάνει– παραλαμβάνει: present active indicative, 3rd person singular of παραλαμβάνω, meaning “he takes (along)” or “he takes with him”
The verb is in the present tense, which is a feature of the vivid historical present—a stylistic device in Koine narrative to create immediacy.… Learn Koine Greek
For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not have spoken afterward about another day.
If Jesus Gave Them Rest: Literary and Theological Context of Hebrews 4:8This verse sits at a critical juncture in the argument of Hebrews 4, where the author is interpreting Psalm 95 and weaving it into an exhortation about entering God’s eschatological “rest” (κατάπαυσις). The mention of “Jesus” in the Greek text (Ἰησοῦς) refers to Joshua, the son of Nun, due to the shared Greek name. The verse constructs a second-class conditional statement to make a theological point: that the rest offered by Joshua in the conquest of Canaan was not the ultimate rest promised by God.… Learn Koine Greek
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