σε. (se) in Romans 3:4: P-2AS
σε. (se) in Romans 3:4
Textual Witness
The witness reads σε at Romans 3:4 within the phrase ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε, and the surrounding context addresses a single hearer.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form keeps the clause pointed and personal, showing that the judgment language is directed toward the one addressed rather than a vague group.
How To Communicate It
In translation and explanation, this form supports plain second person rendering such as 'you' and preserves the direct force of the sentence.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Accusative case identifies function in the clause, but context determines the precise nuance.
- Do not turn grammatical gender into a theological gender claim.
What Does The Label Mean?
Pronoun: the word points to a participant already known from the discourse, here a second person singular reference.
Accusative: the form usually marks the object or other governed role, and here it fits the verb and infinitive frame in the clause.
Singular: the form is grammatically singular in this occurrence, so the address is to one addressee in the sentence.
Common gender: this pronoun form does not itself mark natural gender, so it should not be pressed into a theological gender claim.
What The Form Does In This Verse
κρίνεσθαί
The pronoun is governed by the infinitive phrase ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε, where it functions as the one being judged or examined.
It supplies the second person singular object of the passive infinitive, completing the sense of the clause about being judged.
It is not the subject of the infinitive, and it does not shift the statement away from the speaker's addressed party.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The pronoun is part of the quoted judgment language that contrasts human judgment with God's truthfulness.
Second-person singular accusative pronoun in an infinitive clause. identifies the person involved in the judging action. Attached to the clause about being judged. Governed by the articular infinitive expression in Paul's quotation. The accusative marks the participant in the infinitive clause; the quotation and argument determine the theological force.
Who is involved in the judgment clause? The addressed person is the one in view in the judging expression.
Direct: The form directly supports second-person wording such as "you" in the quoted line.
The accusative form marks clause participation, but the surrounding quotation explains why the judgment language appears. The pronoun does not by itself decide whether the line is read as direct address, quotation, or theological argument; the context does that work.
Case alone resolves quotation theology: Do not make the case form carry Paul's whole argument about God's righteousness and human judgment.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads σε at Romans 3:4 within the phrase ἐν τῷ κρίνεσθαί σε, and the surrounding context addresses a single hearer.
The lemma is σύ, a second person pronoun whose form here is accusative singular, so the basic reference is to 'you'.
The accusative form fits the passive infinitive of judging and indicates the person involved in that action, without adding extra meaning beyond the syntax.
In the verse, the line says that God's words will stand and that the addressed one will be seen to be overmatched in judgment.
This use matches the common biblical pattern where a second person pronoun marks direct address and keeps the focus on the one spoken to.
For readers, the form helps show that the verse speaks personally and directly, not in the abstract, to a single addressee.
Do not derive a change of lemma, a different participant, or any theological claim from the pronoun's gender or case alone.