| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The participle legontes {λέγοντες | lég-on-tes} introduces reported speech and functions substantivally as the subject of the clause, representing the onlookers who speak. The repeated interjection ouai {Οὐαὶ | Ou-aí} ... ouai {οὐαί | ou-aí} forms an intensified lament, a common prophetic woe formula. The sequence of articles and nouns hē polis hē megalē hē peribeblemene {ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη ἡ περιβεβλημένη | hē pó-lis hē me-gá-lē hē pe-ri-beb-lē-mé-nē} creates a string of attributive modifiers in apposition, each article marking a further characterization of “the city” as great and luxuriously clothed. The perfect passive participles peribeblemene {περιβεβλημένη | pe-ri-beb-lē-mé-nē} and kechrysomene {κεχρυσωμένη | ke-khry-sō-mé-nē} highlight a settled state resulting from prior action: the city stands already and enduringly arrayed in finery. The objects of peribeblemene are three accusative neuter substantives—byssinon, porphyroun, kokkinon {βύσσινον, πορφυροῦν, κόκκινον | býs-si-non, por-phu-roûn, kók-ki-non}—forming a triad of luxurious textiles and colors. Kechrysomene governs a series of datives—chrysio, litho timio, margarite {χρυσίῳ, λίθῳ τιμίῳ, μαργαρίτῃ | khry-sí-ō, lí-thō ti-mí-ō, mar-ga-rí-tē}—each introduced by kai {καὶ | kai}, producing rhythmic accumulation and emphasizing opulence. In translation, the attributive string is rendered as a single vivid description attached to “the great city,” and the coordinated lists are preserved to retain the piling-up effect that mirrors the city’s excess and underscores the irony of such splendor being the object of lament. |