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Greek Lessons
- Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek: Imperfective vs. Perfective
- Chiasmus, Inclusio, and Anaphora in New Testament Greek
- Numbered and Named: Genitive Constructions and Enumerated Tribes in Revelation 7:7
- Semantic Range of Greek Verbs in the New Testament: A Case Study on ἀγαπάω and φιλέω
- Released to Serve Anew: Aorist Passives, Participles, and the Tension of Transformation in Romans 7:6
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Category
Tag Archives: Colossians 3:21
The Grammar of Restraint: A Father’s Influence in the Subjunctive Mood
In this short but powerful verse, Paul speaks directly to fathers with a grammatical construction that blends prohibition, purpose, and psychological consequence: Οἱ πατέρες μὴ ἐρεθίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀθυμῶσιν from Colossians 3:21. This sentence reveals how Greek grammar can communicate both authority and caution, both command and compassion — all in one breath.
The Greek Text in FocusΟἱ πατέρες μὴ ἐρεθίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀθυμῶσιν (Colossians 3:21)
“Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they may not become discouraged.”
Grammatical Highlights Οἱ πατέρες — nominative masculine plural; the subject (“fathers”). μὴ ἐρεθίζετε — present imperative active, second person plural with μὴ, forming a negative command (“do not provoke”).… Learn Koine Greek