Mark 4:9

Καὶ ἔλεγεν, Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 2532; Kai; Καὶ; And; Conj

Strongs 2036; elegen; ἔλεγεν; was/kept saying; V-IIA-3S

Strongs 3739; Hos; Ὃς; Whoever; RelPro-NMS

Strongs 2192; echei; ἔχει; is holding; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 3775; ōta; ὦτα; ears; N-ANP

Strongs 191; akouein; ἀκούειν; to hear; V-PNA

Strongs 191; akouetō; ἀκουέτω; let him hear; V-PMA-3S

RBT Hebrew Literal:

and he kept saying,^11b Whoever is holding ears to hear, let him hear!"

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And he said to them, He having ears to hear, let him hear.

LITV Translation:
And He said to them, The one having ears to hear, let him hear.

ESV Translation:
And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Footnotes

11b

The Greek verb ἔλεγεν is the imperfect active indicative of λέγω (“to say”), and properly conveys continuous or repeated action in the past.

While most English translations render it simply as “he said,” this corresponds more directly to the aorist form εἶπεν, which denotes a punctiliar or completed action. In contrast, the imperfect form ἔλεγεν should be translated as “he was saying,” “he kept saying,” or “he used to say,” preserving its imperfective aspect.

Rendering it as “he said,” though not strictly incorrect in idiomatic English, is grammatically imprecise, as it fails to communicate the ongoing or habitual nature of the action encoded in the Greek tense. For rigorous exegetical or linguistic work, the imperfect sense must be maintained.