Verse 2 Greek Text

6:2ἠκολούθει δὲ αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς, ὅτι ἐθεώρουν τὰ σημεῖα ἃ ἐποίει ἐπὶ τῶν ἀσθενούντων.

Verse 2 Sentence Flow

δὲ - postpositive conjunction = and, now
ἠκολούθει - VImpAI3S = a large crowd was following him
  Subject - NNMS = ὄχλος (crowd)
    πολύς - ANMS = large
  Direct Object - DMS = αὐτῷ (him)
ὅτι - adverbial, causal = because
  ἐθεώρουν - VImpAI3P = they were observing/seeing/witnessing
    Subject - they, antecedent is crowd
    Direct Object - NANP = τὰ σημεῖα (the signs)
      ἃ - ANP = which
        ἐποίει - VImpAI3S = he was doing
          Subject - he, antecedent is Jesus
          Direct Object - Prepositional Phrase (ἐπὶ τῶν ἀσθενούντων)
            ἐπὶ - +genitive = locative (to)
              Object of the Preposition - τῶν ἀσθενούντων - PAPtcGMP, substantival participle = those who were sick

Verse 2 Translation Rationale

Beginning the sentence is the postpositive δὲ. We can translate this as and or now in this context. With the LSB, I leaned toward “now” because it seems to have a better feel than “and.” This really is translator’s choice. “Now” seems to offer better readability in the context. “ἠκολούθει” is a finite imperfect verb with a subject of “crowd.” “Crowd” is an indefinite noun that is being modified by the adjective “large.” This makes the entire subject of the verb “a large crowd.” Rendering the verb as “was following” is a consistent way to render the imperfect verb. Imperfect verbs show continuous action in the past. The direct object of the verb “ἠκολούθει” is “αὐτῷ.” This pronoun refers back to Jesus. Of note, this pronoun is in the dative rather than the accusative. Some verbs take a dative object. We then encounter the adverbial, causal subordinating conjunction “ὅτι.” “ὅτι” has a causal relationship to the verb “ἠκολούθει” meaning that the content of the “ὅτι” clause will provide the cause for the action of the verb. The main verb of the “ὅτι” clause is “ἐθεώρουν.” “ἐθεώρουν” should be translated “they were observing/witnessing.” BDAG has this verb meaning “to observe something with sustained attention, be a spectator, look at, observe, perceive, see.” “ἐθεώρουν” is probably best conveyed in 2023 English as “witnessing.” However, from the standpoint of a concorance, there is a more particular word generally used for the act of “witnessing, μαρτυρία.” Regardless, witnessing/seeing/observing is the point of the verb overall and the verb should be translated “they were seeing/observing/witnessing” to show the continous action in the past of the imperfect verb. The subject of “ἐθεώρουν” is supplied within the verb as “they.” The referent or antecedent is the crowd mentioned in the first clause of the sentence. The direct object of the verb “ἐθεώρουν” is “τὰ σημεῖα.” “τὰ σημεῖα” is translated as “the signs.” (I’ve chosen to include the definite article along with the noun to which it refers.) Next we approach a relative pronoun of “ἃ” which refers back to “τὰ σημεῖα” and is translated as “which.” Next we come to the main verb of the relative clause “ἐποίει.” “ἐποίει” is also an imperfect showing continuous action in the past and translated as “he was doing.” The subject “he” is supplied in the verb and the referent is Jesus. The object of the verb is the prepositional phrase “ἐπὶ τῶν ἀσθενούντων.” “ἐπὶ” plus a genetive is locative in nature meaning it indicates where “he was doing” the action which “he was doing” and is translated “to.” Conceptually, “among” would also work here but normally we use “among” when we translate “ἐν.” The object of this preposition phrase is “τῶν ἀσθενούντων.” This is a substantival participle is controlled by the finite verb “ἐποίει.” However, since it’s used in a substantival fashion, it’s rendered in its noun form as “those/the ones who were sick.”

Verse 2 English Translation

Now, a large crowd was following him, because they were observing the signs which He was doing to those who were sick.

Verse 2 Interpretive Questions

1. None at the moment.