| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a triad of first person plural hortatory subjunctives—khaíromen {χαίρωμεν | khaí-rō-men}, agalliōmen {ἀγαλλιῶμεν | a-gal-li-ô-men}, dōsomen {δώσομεν | dó-so-men}—each joined by kai {καὶ | kaí}. This coordinated sequence functions as an intense communal summons: the audience is urged not only to rejoice but to overflow in exultation and to respond by giving glory. The direct object tēn doxan {τὴν δόξαν | tḕn dóx-an} specifies “the glory” as something due uniquely to the divine recipient marked by autō {αὐτῷ | au-tôi}.
The conjunction hoti {ὅτι | hó-ti} introduces a causal clause that explains the ground for this threefold exhortation: ēlthen {ἦλθεν | êl-then} ho gamos tou arniou {ὁ γάμος τοῦ ἀρνίου | ho gá-mos toû ar-ní-ou}, “the marriage of the Lamb has come.” Here ho gamos {ὁ γάμος | ho gá-mos} is the subject, with the genitive tou arniou {τοῦ ἀρνίου | toû ar-ní-ou} expressing a possessive or relational genitive (“belonging to the Lamb”). The aorist indicative ēlthen presents the eschatological event as having definitively arrived, not merely anticipated.
A further coordinate clause introduced by kai {καὶ | kaí} follows within the same causal complex: hē gynē autou hētoimasen heautēn {ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἡτοίμασεν ἑαυτήν | hē gy-nḕ au-toû hē-toí-ma-sen he-au-tḗn}. The subject hē gynē autou {ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ | hē gy-nḕ au-toû} identifies “His wife / bride,” with autou binding her directly to the Lamb in a genitive of relationship. The verb hētoimasen {ἡτοίμασεν | hē-toí-ma-sen} in the aorist points to a completed, decisive act of preparation, while the reflexive heautēn {ἑαυτήν | he-au-tḗn} highlights her own active role in making herself ready. Syntactically, the hoti-clause thus holds two coordinated assertions—the arrival of the marriage and the bride’s completed readiness—which together justify the community’s call to exuberant praise.
In translation, the hortatory subjunctives are consistently rendered with “Let us…” to retain their inclusive, communal force. The two main clauses within the hoti-sentence are kept explicitly coordinated in English (“because the marriage… has come, and His bride…”), preserving the balance between the divine initiative (the Lamb’s marriage) and the bride’s responsive preparation. |