| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with alla {Ἀλλὰ | Allà} ‘but’, which provides a strong contrast to the immediately preceding description of suffering, marking a shift to subsequent events. The temporal prepositional phrase en ekeinais tais hēmerais {ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις | en e-keí-nais taîs hē-mé-rais} ‘in those days’ is fronted to set the eschatological timeframe. It is followed by a second temporal phrase meta tēn thlipsin ekeinēn {μετὰ τὴν θλῖψιν ἐκείνην | me-tà tḕn thlî-psin e-keí-nēn} ‘after that tribulation’, where meta with the accusative marks sequence in time, and the repeated demonstrative ekeinēn ties this tribulation specifically to the one just mentioned in the discourse. The main clause ho hēlios skotisthēsetai {ὁ ἥλιος σκοτισθήσεται | ho hḗ-li-os sko-tis-thḗ-se-tai} ‘the sun will be darkened’ uses a future passive indicative, portraying the darkening as an event imposed on the sun rather than something it initiates, fitting apocalyptic imagery where creation responds to divine action. This is coordinated by kai {καὶ | kaí} with a second clause hē selēnē ou dōsei to phengos autēs {ἡ σελήνη οὐ δώσει τὸ φέγγος αὐτῆς | hḗ se-lḗ-nē ou dṓ-sei tò phén-gos au-tḗs} ‘the moon will not give its light’, where the future active dōsei takes the direct object to phengos, and autēs in the genitive expresses possession ‘its light’. The pairing of sun and moon with parallel negation (skotisthēsetai / ou dōsei) creates a balanced, poetic structure typical of prophetic-apocalyptic language. In English, the two fronted temporal phrases are preserved to maintain the mounting sense of sequence (“in those days, after that tribulation”), the passive-then-active verbal contrast is retained (“will be darkened” / “will not give”), and the cosmic imagery is rendered in clear, natural clauses while keeping the coordination between the two luminaries. |