independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended
Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)
The beast from the sea 13:1–10
vv. 1–4 — the rising beast: the composite monster, the healed wound, the worship
1
Καὶ εἶδον ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης θηρίον ἀναβαῖνον,independent — Dan 7:3 — the beasts come up from the sea; the dragon's summons from 12:18 answered
ἔχον κέρατα δέκα καὶ κεφαλὰς ἑπτά,participial — the dragon's own anatomy (12:3) with horns and heads reversed — the parent's stamp on the child
καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κεράτων αὐτοῦ δέκα διαδήματα,phrase modifier — the tableau column — the diadems have moved from the dragon's heads (12:3) to the beast's horns
καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτοῦ ὀνόματα βλασφημίας.phrase modifier — ἐπί shifts to accusative — the imperial titulature (Sebastos, divi filius) worn as blasphemy
2
καὶ τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδον ἦν ὅμοιον παρδάλει,independent — Dan 7 CONFLATED — Daniel's four beasts fused into one, named in reverse order: leopard, bear, lion
καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτοῦ ὡς ἄρκου,independent — verbless comparison column — Dan 7:5's bear supplies the feet
καὶ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ὡς στόμα λέοντος.independent — Dan 7:4's lion — the mouth that will do the talking of vv. 5–6
καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ δράκων τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξουσίαν μεγάλην.independent — the investiture — a diabolical enthronement parodying the Father's gift to the Son (2:27–28; 3:21)
3
καὶ μίαν ἐκ τῶν κεφαλῶν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐσφαγμένην εἰς θάνατον,independent — ANACOLUTHON kept — accusative μίαν with no verb (εἶδον of v. 1 felt at a distance); ὡς ἐσφαγμένην parodies the Lamb ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (5:6)
καὶ ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ ἐθεραπεύθη.independent — the mock resurrection — πληγή, blow and plague at once; Nero redivivus stands behind the healed head
καὶ ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου,independent — pregnant construction — ἐθαυμάσθη + ὀπίσω: wondered its way into the beast's train (cf. 1 Kgs 11:10 LXX idiom of going after)
4
καὶ προσεκύνησαν τῷ δράκοντιindependent — the cult ascends the chain of command — the giver behind the beast
ὅτι ἔδωκεν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῷ θηρίῳ,cause — the ground — worship follows the gift of v. 2
καὶ προσεκύνησαν τῷ θηρίῳindependent — the second προσεκύνησαν — dative here; the accusative αὐτόν comes in v. 8
λέγοντες·participial — the speech participle — the acclamation hangs from this word
Τίς ὅμοιος τῷ θηρίῳ,content — Exod 15:11 PARODIED — Τίς ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς; the Song of the Sea sung to the sea-monster (cf. Mic 7:18); verbless question
καὶ τίς δύναται πολεμῆσαι μετ’ αὐτοῦ;content — πολεμῆσαι μετά — the Semitic war-idiom of 12:7; the acclamation despairs of Michael's victory
vv. 5–8 — the ἐδόθη chain: mouth, months, war, and the world's worship
5
Καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ στόμα λαλοῦν μεγάλα καὶ βλασφημίας,independent — first ἐδόθη — divine passive: even the boast is on loan; Dan 7:8, 20 — στόμα λαλοῦν μεγάλα, the little horn's mouth
καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ποιῆσαι μῆνας τεσσεράκοντα δύο.independent — second ἐδόθη — ποιῆσαι absolute, 'to act'; the 42 months = the 1,260 days of 11:2–3; 12:6: a leased term, not a reign
6
καὶ ἤνοιξεν τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ εἰς βλασφημίας πρὸς τὸν θεόν,independent — the given mouth put to use — the lion's mouth of v. 2 speaking
βλασφημῆσαι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ,purpose — epexegetic-purpose infinitive — the blasphemy itemized: the Name and the tent
τοὺς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ σκηνοῦντας.phrase modifier — asyndetic apposition — God's σκηνή identified with its tent-dwellers (12:12; 7:15): to curse them is to curse it
7
καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ποιῆσαι πόλεμον μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ νικῆσαι αὐτούς,independent — third ἐδόθη — Dan 7:21 nearly verbatim; νικῆσαι, the conqueror-verb of the letters, permitted to the enemy for a term
καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν φυλὴν καὶ λαὸν καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ ἔθνος.independent — fourth ἐδόθη — the fourfold formula of 5:9; 7:9 usurped: the Lamb's ransomed constituency claimed whole
8
καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς,independent — SOLECISM kept — masculine αὐτόν for the neuter beast: the grammar confesses a person; οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, the book's fixed phrase for the unsealed
οὗ οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου.relative — CRUX — singular οὗ … αὐτοῦ (pleonastic pronoun, Hebrew אֲשֶׁר…שְׁמוֹ) distributing over the plural; ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου read with γέγραπται (with 17:8), not with ἐσφαγμένου: the enrollment, not the slaying, is pre-temporal
vv. 9–10 — the call to hear, and the quatrain of destinies
9
Εἴ τις ἔχει οὖςconditional — the letter-refrain (chs. 2–3) recast as a condition — its only occurrence outside the seven letters
ἀκουσάτω.independent — the apodosis in one imperative — the oracle that follows is for the churches
10
εἴ τις εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν,conditional — verbless protasis — Jer 15:2; 43:11: the quatrain of appointed destinies
εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν ὑπάγει·independent — the apodosis echoes the protasis word for word — destiny stated, not threatened
εἴ τις ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι,conditional — second protasis — the bare infinitive of destiny, ἀποκτανθῆναι
αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι.independent — the hardest reading kept — infinitival apodosis with resumptive αὐτόν (many MSS smooth to a future): a call to endure, not to take the sword (cf. Matt 26:52)
Ὧδέ ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονὴ καὶ ἡ πίστις τῶν ἁγίων.independent — the seal — Ὧδε points at the quatrain: accepting the appointed lot is the saints' warfare (14:12 answers)
The beast from the earth 13:11–18
vv. 11–12 — the lamb-horned, dragon-voiced deputy
11
Καὶ εἶδον ἄλλο θηρίον ἀναβαῖνον ἐκ τῆς γῆς,independent — the second beast — land to the first's sea: the Behemoth-Leviathan pair (Job 40–41; 1 En. 60:7–8)
καὶ εἶχεν κέρατα δύο ὅμοια ἀρνίῳ,independent — the PARODY — ἀρνίον, the book's own title for Christ (5:6): a lamb's silhouette, without diadems or wound
καὶ ἐλάλει ὡς δράκων.independent — the voice betrays the parentage — lamb's look, serpent's speech; the false prophet of 16:13; 19:20
12
καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πρώτου θηρίου πᾶσαν ποιεῖ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ.independent — the ποιεῖ chain opens — vivid presents from here to v. 16; ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, a vicar ministering before his lord
καὶ ποιεῖ τὴν γῆν καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ κατοικοῦνταςindependent — causative ποιεῖ with accusative — compulsion, not persuasion, is its ministry
ἵνα προσκυνήσουσιν τὸ θηρίον τὸ πρῶτον,content — ἵνα + future indicative προσκυνήσουσιν — the Revelation idiom (9:4–5, 20); προσκυνέω with accusative again
οὗ ἐθεραπεύθη ἡ πληγὴ τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ.relative — pleonastic οὗ … αὐτοῦ again — the healed wound of v. 3 is the credential the deputy preaches
vv. 13–15 — the signs, the image, and the breath with its death-sanction
13
καὶ ποιεῖ σημεῖα μεγάλα,independent — σημεῖα — the credential-word (cf. 2 Thess 2:9; Mark 13:22): a counterfeit prophet's portfolio
ἵνα καὶ πῦρ ποιῇ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνειν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων.content — epexegetic-consecutive ἵνα — the signs specified; Elijah's fire (1 Kgs 18:38; 2 Kgs 1:10) and the witnesses' fire (11:5) counterfeited
14
καὶ πλανᾷ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς διὰ τὰ σημεῖαindependent — πλανᾷ — the dragon's own trade (12:9) franchised to the deputy
ἃ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ποιῆσαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θηρίου,relative — ἐδόθη even here — the deceiver's wonders also run on the divine loan
λέγων τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆςparticipial — masculine λέγων for the neuter beast — ad sensum again: the deceit is spoken by a someone
ποιῆσαι εἰκόνα τῷ θηρίῳcontent — the indirect command — εἰκών, the cult-image: Dan 3's golden statue redivivus
ὃς ἔχει τὴν πληγὴν τῆς μαχαίρης καὶ ἔζησεν.relative — SOLECISM kept — masculine ὃς for neuter τῷ θηρίῳ; ἔζησεν, the resurrection-verb spoken of Christ at 2:8, claimed for the beast
15
καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ δοῦναι πνεῦμα τῇ εἰκόνι τοῦ θηρίου,independent — ἐδόθη … δοῦναι — the borrower lends; πνεῦμα here breath, not Spirit: an animation-parody of Gen 2:7; Ezek 37:10
ἵνα καὶ λαλήσῃ ἡ εἰκὼν τοῦ θηρίουpurpose — the speaking statue — the age's ventriloquized cult-images made an eschatological terror
καὶ ποιήσῃpurpose — coordinate with λαλήσῃ — ποιήσῃ governs the nested sanction below
ἵνα ὅσοι ἐὰν μὴ προσκυνήσωσιν τῇ εἰκόνι τοῦ θηρίουconditional — indefinite ὅσοι ἐάν nested inside the second ἵνα — carried protasis-fashion above its bare verb
ἀποκτανθῶσιν.content — the death-sanction in one passive word — Dan 3:6's furnace decree for the statue's refusers
vv. 16–17 — the mark decree: no one buys or sells without it
16
καὶ ποιεῖ πάντας,independent — the last ποιεῖ — the decree made universal before it is itemized
τοὺς μικροὺς καὶ τοὺς μεγάλους,phrase modifier — the merism column — the book's census formula (11:18; 19:5, 18; 20:12)
καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους καὶ τοὺς πτωχούς,phrase modifier — second pair — the economy's classes named before the market-sanction of v. 17
καὶ τοὺς ἐλευθέρους καὶ τοὺς δούλους,phrase modifier — third pair — no legal status exempts
ἵνα δῶσιν αὐτοῖς χάραγμα ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν τῆς δεξιᾶς ἢ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῶν,content — indefinite plural δῶσιν — 'that they give them', a passive in plural dress; χάραγμα, the brand or imperial stamp: the parody of God's seal on the forehead (7:3)
17
καὶ ἵνα μή τις δύνηται ἀγοράσαι ἢ πωλῆσαιcontent — the second ἵνα, still on ποιεῖ — the mark's teeth: excommunication from the marketplace
εἰ μὴ ὁ ἔχων τὸ χάραγμα,phrase modifier — εἰ μή — the exception; nominative ὁ ἔχων where the syntax led elsewhere
τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θηρίου ἢ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ.phrase modifier — apposition — the mark decoded: name or its number, the bridge into v. 18's riddle
v. 18 — here is wisdom: the number of the beast
18
Ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν.independent — the riddle-seal — paired with v. 10's Ὧδε: there endurance, here calculation
ὁ ἔχων νοῦν ψηφισάτω τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ θηρίου,independent — ψηφισάτω — count it out pebble by pebble: an invitation to gematria (cf. Sib. Or. 1.324–29)
ἀριθμὸς γὰρ ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν·cause — γάρ — computable because a human name underlies it (a man's number, not an angel's; some: 'a human sort of number')
καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτοῦ ἑξακόσιοι ἑξήκοντα ἕξ.independent — 666 — Nero Caesar in Hebrew letters (נרון קסר) = 666, and the spelling without final nun = 616, the ancient variant of P115 and C: the oldest commentary on the riddle; a triple six ever falling short of seven
Analysis. The chapter is a diptych of monsters, and the page keeps Revelation's two textures in view: flush-left καί-chains of narrative verbs, and dashed verbless columns wherever a beast sits for its portrait — the sea-beast's horns, diadems, and blasphemy-names hang under θηρίον (v. 1), and Daniel's leopard, bear, and lion stack as verbless comparisons (v. 2, the four beasts of Dan 7 conflated into one, in reverse order). The theological spine of the first panel is the fourfold divine passive ἐδόθη (vv. 5–7): mouth, months, war, and worldwide authority all indented as loans, never possessions — even the blasphemy runs on a lease of forty-two months. The crowd's acclamation (Τίς ὅμοιος τῷ θηρίῳ; — Exod 15:11 parodied, the Song of the Sea sung to the sea-monster) hangs as a quoted column under λέγοντες, and the layout keeps John's grammar unsmoothed throughout: the anacoluthic accusative μίαν of v. 3, the masculine αὐτόν for the neuter beast (v. 8), masculine λέγων and the notorious ὅς for τῷ θηρίῳ (v. 14), and the bare infinitive apodosis αὐτὸν ἐν μαχαίρῃ ἀποκτανθῆναι of the Jer 15:2 quatrain (v. 10), whose two protases lean forward per the house convention. The one attachment crux the layout resolves: in v. 8 ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου is read with γέγραπται (with 17:8) — it is the writing in the book, not the slaying of the Lamb, that is pre-temporal — flagged, not hidden. In the second panel the lamb-horned, dragon-voiced deputy runs on a chain of vivid presents (ποιεῖ … ποιεῖ … ποιεῖ … πλανᾷ … ποιεῖ), with ἵνα + future indicative προσκυνήσουσιν (v. 12) kept as the book's idiom, the ἵνα of v. 13 read as epexegetic of the σημεῖα, the image's nested death-sanction laid protasis-fashion above its one-word passive ἀποκτανθῶσιν (v. 15), the second ἵνα of v. 17 still hanging from the ποιεῖ of v. 16, and the whole closed by the riddle-seal: Ὧδε ἡ σοφία answering v. 10's Ὧδε, with 666 printed as the text and the ancient rival 616 (P115, C) noted as the oldest commentary on it.