| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with a coordinated nominal structure, kai ta deka kerata ha eides kai to therion {καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα ἃ εἶδες καὶ τὸ θηρίον | kaí tà dé-ka ké-ra-ta ha eî-des kaí tò thē-rí-on}, in which the relative clause ha eides {ἃ εἶδες | ha eî-des} “which you saw” modifies “the ten horns,” and the second coordinated noun phrase “and the beast” is joined to it. The demonstrative houtoi {οὗτοι | hoû-toi} functions resumptively, gathering both antecedents (“horns” and “beast”) into a single plural subject for the following finite verbs. The first main verb misēsousin {μισήσουσιν | mi-sḗ-sou-sin} “will hate” introduces their hostile action toward the direct object tēn pornēn {τὴν πόρνην | tḕn pór-nēn}. A resultative sequence follows, introduced by coordinated elements with kai {καὶ | kaí}: the participle ērēmōmenēn {ἠρημωμένην | ē-rē-mō-mé-nēn} precedes the verb poiēsousin {ποιήσουσιν | poi-ḗ-sou-sin} in the idiom “make her desolate,” with autēn {αὐτὴν | au-tḕn} as the object; gumnēn {γυμνήν | gym-nḗn} is an additional predicate accusative, giving a second resultant state (“and naked”). The following clause adds further actions with new finite verbs: phagontai {φάγονται | phá-gon-tai} “they will eat” governing tas sarkas autēs {τὰς σάρκας αὐτῆς | tàs sár-kas au-tês}, and katakausousin {κατακαύσουσιν | ka-ta-kaú-sou-sin} “they will burn up” taking autēn {αὐτὴν | au-tḕn} again as direct object. The prepositional phrase en puri {ἐν πυρί | en py-rí} specifies the means or circumstance of the final act of destruction. The repeated kai coordination and recurring pronoun autēn create a piling effect that emphasizes cumulative, escalating violence, which is mirrored in English by preserving the chain of “and” clauses and explicit repetition of “they will.” |