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Ephesians 4:29 ἀλλὰ εἴ

Posted: October 6th, 2013, 7:45 am
by Jonathan Robie
πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκπορευέσθω, ἀλλὰ εἴ τις ἀγαθὸς πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν τῆς χρείας, ἵνα δῷ χάριν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν.
Can someone help me with the precise meaning of ἀλλὰ εἴ in this sentence?

Re: Ephesians 4:29 ἀλλὰ εἴ

Posted: October 6th, 2013, 9:15 am
by cwconrad
Jonathan Robie wrote:
πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκπορευέσθω, ἀλλὰ εἴ τις ἀγαθὸς πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν τῆς χρείας, ἵνα δῷ χάριν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν.
Can someone help me with the precise meaning of ἀλλὰ εἴ in this sentence?
Seems to me this is another formulation with some suppressed -- presumed by the author to be obvious to the reader and therefore unstated -- elements called for in a fully grammatical expression. I think we have to start with the sense of πᾶς here as "any", and then understand εἴ τις as another "any" (λόγος) and understand ἐκπορευέσθω from the preceding clause.

Viewed thus in an expanded paraphrase, it's "Don't let any foul thought that comes into your mind leave your lips, but rather give expression to any thought that serves a helpful purpose, so as to bestow a boon on those who hear you."

I'm not much impressed by this author's efforts to make his meaning clear; this is another instance of murky expression.