Greek uses article + particle (οἱ δέ); Peshitta mirrors with pronoun + particle (ܗܢܘܢ ܕܝܢ); Vulgate employs a relative pronoun (Qui) without explicit conjunction, a stylistic compression typical of Latin narrative.
EN They told him, “John the Baptizer, and others say Elijah, but others: one of the prophets.”
ES Y ellos respondieron: Juan Bautista; y otros, Elías; y otros, Alguno de los profetas.
ZH-HANS 他们说:「有人说是施洗的约翰;有人说是以利亚;又有人说是先知里的一位。」
ZH-HANT 他們說:「有人說是施洗的約翰;有人說是以利亞;又有人說是先知裏的一位。」
Greek uses article + particle (οἱ δέ); Peshitta mirrors with pronoun + particle (ܗܢܘܢ ܕܝܢ); Vulgate employs a relative pronoun (Qui) without explicit conjunction, a stylistic compression typical of Latin narrative.
Greek uses aorist verb + dative pronoun (εἶπαν αὐτῷ); Peshitta uses simple perfect (ܐܡܪܘ) without explicit indirect object; Vulgate employs deponent perfect + dative pronoun (responderunt illi), emphasizing the response aspect.
Greek and Vulgate include a redundant speech formula (λέγοντες / dicentes) introducing direct discourse, followed by ὅτι / colon. The Peshitta omits this pleonastic construction entirely, moving directly to the reported content—a characteristic Syriac preference for economy in speech introductions.
Greek uses accusative with article (Ἰωάννην τὸν βαπτιστήν); Peshitta employs ܕ-prefixed construct chain (ܕܝܘܚܢܢ ܡܥܡܕܢܐ); Vulgate mirrors Greek structure with accusative (Joannem Baptistam). All three traditions agree semantically but reflect distinct case-marking systems.
Greek uses bare accusative (Ἠλίαν) in elliptical construction; Peshitta prefixes ܕ (ܕܐܠܝܐ) to mark the accusative/object relation explicitly; Vulgate uses accusative (Eliam) matching Greek. The Peshitta ܕ-prefix clarifies syntactic role in a language lacking overt case morphology.
Greek uses ἄλλοι δὲ ὅτι (others now that) with contrastive particle and recitative ὅτι; Vulgate expands with alii vero quasi (others truly as-if), adding vero for emphasis and quasi suggesting approximation or comparison; Peshitta uses simple ܘܐܚܪܢܐ (and others) without contrastive or modal particles. The Vulgate's quasi introduces a nuance of uncertainty or comparison absent in the other traditions.