| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds as a single visionary sentence, unified by successive kai {καὶ | kaí} “and,” which intensifies the portrayal. It begins with thērion {θηρίον | thē-rí-on} “beast,” defined by the relative clause ho eidon {ὃ εἶδον | hó eî-don} “which I saw,” grounding the vision in John’s experience. A triad of comparative phrases—homoion pardalei {ὅμοιον παρδάλει | hó-mo-i-on par-dá-lei} “like a leopard,” hos arkou {ὡς ἄρκου | hōs ár-kou} “as a bear’s,” and hos stoma leontos {ὡς στόμα λέοντος | hōs stó-ma lé-on-tos} “as a lion’s mouth”—highlights the creature’s composite features, each genitive autou {αὐτοῦ | autoû} “of it” attributing them to the same entity. The narrative then shifts with the aorist edōken {ἔδωκεν | é-dō-ken} “he gave,” where ho drakon {ὁ δράκων | ho drá-kōn} “the dragon” is the subject and auto {αὐτῷ | autôi} “to it” the indirect object. The coordinated objects—ten dynamin autou {τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ | tḕn dý-na-min autoû} “its power,” ton thronon autou {τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ | tòn thró-non autoû} “its throne,” and exousian megalēn {ἐξουσίαν μεγάλην | ex-ou-sí-an megálēn} “great authority”—depict a comprehensive transfer of dominion. The translation preserves this accumulation of similes and the triadic bestowal to maintain the escalating sense of delegated sovereignty and menace. |