| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the coordinated subject phrase kai ho diabolos {καὶ ὁ διάβολος | kaí ho diá-bo-los}, linking this sentence to the preceding narrative and identifying “the devil” as the topic. The attributive participial phrase ho planon autous {ὁ πλανῶν αὐτοὺς | ho pla-nôn au-toús} follows the noun in standard attributive position, characterizing the devil by his ongoing activity of deceiving “them,” with the object pronoun autous referring back to the nations previously deceived. The aorist passive main verb eblethe {ἐβλήθη | e-blḗ-thē} presents his being “thrown” as a decisive, completed act, with the implied agent being divine. The prepositional phrase eis ten limnen tou puros kai theiou {εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ θείου | eis tḕn lím-nēn toû pyròs kaì theí-ou} specifies the destination, using a genitive construction to describe the lake as characterized by “fire and sulfur,” an established image of eschatological judgment. The relative adverb hopou {ὅπου | hó-pou}, followed by kai to therion kai ho pseudoprophetes {καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης | kaí tò thē-rí-on kaí ho pseu-do-pro-phḗ-tēs}, introduces a locative relative clause, “where also the beast and the false prophet (are),” with the verb “are” understood. This clause ties the devil’s fate to that of the two figures previously cast into the lake, forming a triad of condemned enemies. The coordinated future passive verb basanisthesontai {βασανισθήσονται | ba-sa-nis-thḗ-son-tai} has a third person plural subject that collectively encompasses the devil, the beast, and the false prophet, and presents their torment as a continuing reality. The temporal phrase hemeras kai nyktos {ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς | hē-mé-ras kaì nyk-tòs}, functioning adverbially as “day and night,” underscores unceasing experience. Finally, the prepositional phrase eis tous aionas ton aionon {εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων | eis toús ai-ô-nas tôn ai-ô-nōn} uses a superlative idiom “into the ages of the ages” to convey everlasting duration. In translation, the participial structure is rendered as a relative clause for clarity, the passive verbs are preserved to maintain the sense of divine judicial action, and the idiomatic temporal expressions are expressed as “day and night, for ever and ever” or equivalent to reflect both the intensity and permanence of the punishment. |