| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kai {Καὶ | kaí} linking this action to the preceding bowl judgments. The verb apelthen {ἀπῆλθεν | apêl-then} introduces the main action “went away,” with the subject understood from ho protos {ὁ πρῶτος | ho prô-tos}, “the first,” referring to the first angel in Revelation 16:1. The coordinated verb execheen {ἐξέχεεν | exé-khe-en} continues the narrative: he went and he poured out. The direct object ten phialen autou {τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ | tên phi-á-lēn au-toû} denotes possession by the genitive pronoun autou. The phrase eis ten geen {εἰς τὴν γῆν | eis tên gê-n} specifies the judgment’s target. The inceptive aorist egeneto {ἐγένετο | e-gé-ne-to} marks a new event, followed by the nominative predicate helkos kakon kai poneron {ἕλκος κακὸν καὶ πονηρὸν | hél-kos ka-kòn kai po-nē-ròn}, where the adjectives intensify the affliction. The prepositional phrase epi tous anthropous {ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους | e-pí toùs an-thrō-pous} identifies the afflicted. Two present participles—echontas to charagma tou theriou {ἔχοντας τὸ χάραγμα τοῦ θηρίου | é-khon-tas tò chá-rag-ma toû thē-rí-ou} and proskynountas te eikoni autou {προσκυνοῦντας τῇ εἰκόνι αὐτοῦ | pros-ku-noûn-tas têi ei-kó-ni au-toû}—define those subject to judgment by their ongoing allegiance. The formal rendering mirrors the Greek sequence, while the dynamic version explicitly identifies the first angel and the eruptive nature of the sores without altering the underlying structure. |