| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kai {καί | kaí} ‘and’, linking this scene with the preceding vision and introducing the finite verb adousin {ᾄδουσιν | ái-dou-sin} ‘they sing’. The first object is the accusative phrase tēn ōdēn Mōuseōs tou doulou tou theou {τὴν ᾠδὴν Μωϋσέως τοῦ δούλου τοῦ θεοῦ | tḕn ō-dḕn Mō-u-sé-ōs tou doú-lou tou the-oû}, “the song of Moses, the servant of God,” where the genitives Mōuseōs and doulou tou theou form a chain of apposition and possession. A parallel object, kai tēn ōdēn tou arniou {καὶ τὴν ᾠδὴν τοῦ ἀρνίου | kaí tḕn ō-dḕn tou ar-ní-ou}, “and the song of the Lamb,” continues the coordinate pattern and emphasizes the unity of celestial praise. The participle legontes {λέγοντες | lé-gon-tes} ‘saying’ agrees in gender and number with the singers and introduces the hymn’s content. Within the quotation, Megala kai thaumasta ta erga sou {Μεγάλα καὶ θαυμαστὰ τὰ ἔργα σου | Me-gá-la kaí thau-mas-tá tà ér-ga sou} forms a verbless predicate with neuter plural adjectives as predicate complements to ta erga, implying “are.” The vocative cluster kyrie ho theos ho pantokratōr {κύριε ὁ θεός ὁ παντοκράτωρ | ký-ri-e ho the-ós ho pan-to-krá-tō-r} combines direct address with appositional nominals to heighten reverence. A second parallel clause, dikaiai kai alēthinai hai hodoi sou {δίκαιαι καὶ ἀληθιναὶ αἱ ὁδοί σου | dí-kai-ai kaí a-lē-thi-naí haí ho-doí sou}, similarly uses feminine plural predicative adjectives to describe God’s ways. Finally, ho basileus tōn aiōnōn {ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων | ho ba-si-leús tôn ai-ō-nō-n} apposes the divine addressee as “the King of the ages,” with the genitive expressing sovereign rule over all epochs. Balanced clause structure and parallelism are preserved in the translations to reflect the poetic form. |