| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with idou {Ἰδοὺ | Idoù} ‘look, behold,’ an attention-getting particle that introduces a solemn announcement. This is followed by erchomai {ἔρχομαι | ér-kho-mai} ‘I come,’ in the present tense used futurally to convey imminent arrival, intensified by the adverb tachy {ταχύ | ta-chý} ‘quickly.’ The coordinate phrase kai ho misthos mou met emou {καὶ ὁ μισθός μου μετʼ ἐμοῦ | kaí ho mis-thós mou met e-moû} ‘and My reward with Me’ places misthos as the subject modified by the possessive pronoun mou and the prepositional phrase met emou, emphasizing the inseparability of the recompense from the Coming One. The infinitive apodounai {ἀποδοῦναι | a-po-doû-nai} functions as a telic purpose infinitive, expressing why He comes: to repay. Its indirect object hekastō {ἑκάστῳ | he-kás-tō} ‘to each one’ underscores universal judgment. The comparative clause hōs to ergon estin autou {ὡς τὸ ἔργον ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ | hōs tò ér-gon es-tín au-toû} establishes the standard of recompense: according to each person’s deeds. The Greek sequence moves from summons (idou), to imminent coming (erchomai + tachy), to accompanying recompense (ho misthos mou met emou), to purpose (apodounai) and standard (hekastō hōs to ergon estin autou). The English reconstructions preserve this logical flow while smoothing word order around the infinitive purpose phrase. |