ἔστι (estin) in Romans 3:10: Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἔστι (estin) in Romans 3:10
Textual Witness
The witness reads 'Οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς,' with ἔστι as the finite verb in the quoted statement.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar makes the clause a direct negated assertion of absence, sharpening the line's plain force without adding details beyond the context.
How To Communicate It
In English rendering and teaching, the form supports a clear statement such as 'there is no righteous person' or 'none is righteous,' depending on the larger syntax.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- A verb form can signal how the claim is stated, but it does not by itself supply the full meaning of the claim.
- Do not turn tense, number, or person into a conclusion that the verse context does not state.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form states existence or being, and here it functions as the clause's finite verb.
Present: often views the action as in progress, customary, or presently in view. Context decides the exact force.
Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.
Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.
Third person: the form speaks about someone or something rather than directly as I/we or you.
Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Singular: the form is third person singular, so it refers to a singular subject or impersonal assertion in the clause.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It stands in the phrase, 'Οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς.'
It is governed by the surrounding negated assertion and frames the claim that follows, not by a visible explicit subject.
It serves as the main verb of the clause and expresses that righteousness is not being affirmed of anyone in view.
It is not a standalone doctrinal term, and it does not by itself identify who is absent or redefine the adjective that follows.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The verb carries the negative existential assertion in Paul's Scripture chain.
Negated present active indicative existential verb. states nonexistence or absence in the clause. Attached to the negated claim that no righteous one is present. Governed by Paul's catena of Scripture testimony. The verb supplies the existential assertion, while the adjective and Scripture context define the claim.
What does the negated verb assert? It asserts that no righteous one is present in the scope of Paul's argument.
Direct: The negated verb directly supports English wording such as "there is none."
The present form should be read inside Paul's cited Scripture chain and argument, not as an isolated grammar proof.
Present tense alone proves the full doctrine of sin: The present verb states the clause; Paul's Scripture argument supplies the doctrinal scope.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads 'Οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς,' with ἔστι as the finite verb in the quoted statement.
The lemma εἰμί normally means 'to be' or 'to exist,' and here it contributes a simple statement of existence or presence.
The present singular form supports a general, immediate assertion in the quotation, while the negation and surrounding words carry the force of the statement.
In context, the clause says that there is not a righteous person, and the verb helps present that claim directly and succinctly.
This use fits common biblical ways of using εἰμί to state existence, presence, or an impersonal 'there is' idea without requiring more than the context gives.
For readers, the form signals a concise negative assertion, so translation should preserve the force of 'there is not' or 'is not' as the context allows.
Do not infer hidden gender, extra subject identity, or a broader theological system from the verb form alone.