Sunday, April 14, 2024

Matthew 7:3

A couple weeks ago, I watched the Daily Dose of Greek video on Matthew 7:3:


"'Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?'" [ESV]

Even before Dr. Plummer mentioned it in the video, I noticed that the verse has a chiastic structure:
τί δὲ βλέπεις
τὸ κάρφος
τὸ ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου,
τὴν δὲ ἐν τῷ σῷ ὀφθαλμῷ
δοκὸν
οὐ κατανοεῖς;
Something like:
Why do you see
the speck
that is in your brother's eye,
but that is in your own eye
the log
you do not notice?
Since the words in the two clauses appear in an inverted order, this structure highlights the contrast between βλέπεις ("you do see") and οὐ κατανοεῖς ("you do not notice") and perhaps also between the sizes of τὸ κάρφος ("the speck") and τὴν δοκὸν ("the log").