| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kai legei moi {Καὶ λέγει μοι | Kaí légei moi} using the present tense as a historical present to render the vision vivid and continuous. The prohibition mē sphragisēs {Μὴ σφραγίσῃς | Mḗ sphragísēs} employs the negative particle with an aorist subjunctive to instruct against sealing the text at any point. The genitive sequence tous logous tēs prophēteias tou bibliou toutou {τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας τοῦ βιβλίου τούτου | toùs ló-gous tês prophēteías tou bi-blí-ou toútou} tightly links the “words” to the “prophecy” and then to “this book,” underscoring the unity of spoken and written revelation. The causal clause ho kairos gar engys estin {ὁ καιρὸς γὰρ ἐγγύς ἐστιν | ho kai-ròs gár engýs estin} places “the time” before the adverb “near” and the copula “is,” foregrounding the immediacy that motivates the prohibition. Quotation marks preserve the original direct speech, and the formal version’s “for” reflects gar, while the dynamic’s “because” conveys natural explanatory flow. |