| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the demonstrative subject houtoi {οὗτοι | hoû-toi} ‘these’, looking back to the hostile powers previously described. This is followed by the prepositional phrase meta tou arniou {μετὰ τοῦ ἀρνίου | metà toû arníou} ‘with the Lamb’, which in context has a hostile nuance, indicating the party against whom they take action. The main verb polemesousin {πολεμήσουσιν | po-le-mḗ-sou-sin} ‘they will make war’ is future active indicative, marking a prophetic, determined conflict. A coordinated clause then introduces the contrasting action: to arnion nikesei autous {τὸ ἀρνίον νικήσει αὐτούς | tó arníon nikḗ-sei autoús}, where the Lamb is now the grammatical subject and the future verb nikesei ‘will conquer’ signals certain victory over the same object ‘them’. The causal clause hoti kurios kyriōn estin kai basileus basileōn {ὅτι κύριος κυρίων ἐστὶν καὶ βασιλεὺς βασιλέων | hóti kýrios kyríōn estìn kaí basileús basiléōn} explains this outcome: stacked genitives ‘Lord of lords’ and ‘King of kings’ form Semitic-style superlatives, asserting absolute sovereignty as the theological ground for the Lamb’s triumph. The final coordinated clause kai hoi met’ autou klētoi kai eklektoi kai pistoi {καὶ οἱ μετʼ αὐτοῦ κλητοὶ καὶ ἐκλεκτοὶ καὶ πιστοί | kaí hoi met’ autoû klētoí kaí eklektoí kaí pistoi} shifts focus to His followers: hoi met’ autou ‘those with Him’ introduces a group characterized by a triad of adjectives, each joined by kai in a rhythmic, emphatic series—‘called’, ‘chosen’, ‘faithful’. This sequence underscores their secure identity and participation in His victory. In translation, the future tenses are kept as explicit futures, the causal hoti-clause is rendered with “because/for” to preserve the logical grounding, and the royal titles are translated in their recognized liturgical form to maintain their weight and resonance. |