Mark 6 : 18

All three render the imperfect of continuous past speech; Greek ἔλεγεν and Latin Dicebat use a single inflected imperfect, whereas Syriac employs the periphrastic construction ܐܡܪ ܗܘܐ (perfect + auxiliary ܗܘܐ), the standard Syriac means of expressing durative or habitual past action.

Greek prefixes the nominative proper noun with the article ὁ Ἰωάννης, a typical Greek usage with personal names; neither Syriac ܝܘܚܢܢ nor Latin Joannes employs an article, as neither language marks names this way.

Greek marks the indirect object with the dative article + noun (τῷ Ἡρῴδῃ); Syriac uses the prepositional dative prefix ܠ on ܠܗܪܘܕܣ, while Latin uses the bare dative Herodi — three equivalent strategies for the recipient of speech.

Greek introduces direct discourse with recitative ὅτι, here untranslatable as 'that'; the Vulgate represents the boundary with a colon and Non, while Syriac merges the discourse marker with the negation as ܕܠܐ ('that not'), so the Peshitta token absorbs both the ὅτι and the following οὐκ.

The Greek negation οὐκ and Latin Non stand as separate words, but Syriac fuses the relative/recitative particle with the negation in the single form ܕܠܐ; this token therefore overlaps with the preceding discourse-marker group.

Greek ἔχειν and Latin habere use a complementary infinitive ('to have'); Syriac ܕܬܣܒ employs a finite subjunctive verb from the root n-s-b ('that you should take'), shifting from possession to the act of taking a wife — a common Semitic idiom for marriage.

Greek marks the object with the article τὴν γυναῖκα; both Syriac ܐܢܬܬ (construct state of a-n-th) and Latin uxorem stand without an article, the Syriac construct form alone signalling the genitive relationship that follows.

Greek expresses possession with article + genitive noun + possessive pronoun (τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου, 'of your brother'); Latin uses genitive fratris tui; Syriac compresses both into the single suffixed form ܐܚܘܟ ('your brother'), the pronominal suffix rendering the separate Greek and Latin possessive pronoun unnecessary.