λαμβανέτω (lambaneto) in Revelation 22:17: Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Imperative
λαμβανέτω (lambaneto) in Revelation 22:17
Textual Witness
The witness reads λαμβανέτω in Revelation 22:17 within the phrase καὶ ὁ θέλων λαμβανέτω τὸ ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The form sharpens the verse into an invitation of response: the willing person is told to take the gift freely.
How To Communicate It
It communicates urgency and openness, making the offer sound immediate, personal, and available to the hearer.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- The imperative shows invitation or command, but the verse context determines who is addressed and what is offered.
- Do not turn verbal mood into a full doctrine by itself; keep the reading tied to the sentence and passage.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form names an action or summons to act, here expressed as an imperative for direct exhortation.
Present: often views the action as in progress, customary, or presently in view. Context decides the exact force.
Active: presents the subject as doing or carrying the action.
Imperative: presents the verbal idea as a command, appeal, or summons to action.
Third person: the form speaks about someone or something rather than directly as I/we or you.
Not applicable: this verb form is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Singular: the form is singular in shape and addresses one person as a direct unit, even when used in a public saying.
Not applicable: this verb form does not use grammatical gender to make its point.
What The Form Does In This Verse
It is attached to the phrase ὁ θέλων and its object τὸ ὕδωρ ζωῆς.
It is governed by the surrounding invitation, where the willing person is told to take the water of life freely.
It functions as the main action in this clause, turning willingness into a direct invitation to receive what is offered.
It does not by itself define the source, quality, or theology of the water; those ideas come from the whole sentence.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The third person imperative turns the willing person's desire into a direct invitation to receive the water of life.
Present active imperative, third person singular. summons the willing one to receive the water of life freely. Attached to the phrase the one who wills. Governed by the invitation sequence in Revelation 22:17. The imperative gives exhortation force; the object phrase identifies what is received.
What is the willing one invited to do? The willing one is invited to take the water of life freely.
Direct: The imperative directly supports let the one who wills take or receive.
Third person imperative may sound indirect in English, but it still carries summons force. Present imperative should not be reduced to a mechanical continuous-action formula. The verse's gift language controls the meaning of receiving.
Third person imperative is only description: The mood gives the line invitation or command force, not mere description. present imperative always means keep on doing: Present imperative aspect should not be forced into a duration claim.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads λαμβανέτω in Revelation 22:17 within the phrase καὶ ὁ θέλων λαμβανέτω τὸ ὕδωρ ζωῆς δωρεάν.
The lemma is λαμβάνω, which in this context means to take or receive, matching the invitation in the verse.
The imperative, joined to the participial description of the willing person, gives the sentence a public, open call to act.
The verse presents the offered water of life as something available to the willing hearer, received freely rather than earned.
This fits the chapter's closing invitation pattern, where repeated imperatives press the open appeal of the vision.
In teaching or reading aloud, the form supports a direct, welcoming tone that stresses invitation and response.
Do not derive coercion, special status, or extra theological content from the imperative alone; context controls the point.