λέγουσιν, (legousin) in Revelation 22:17: Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
λέγουσιν, (legousin) in Revelation 22:17
Textual Witness
The text reads, "Καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν, Ἐλθέ," in the supplied witness.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The plural verb strengthens the sense that the invitation comes from a united voice, which makes the call feel corporate, urgent, and public.
How To Communicate It
In communication, this form can be rendered naturally as a shared statement such as "they say" or "they are saying," while preserving the verse's collective appeal.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Plural number indicates multiple speakers here, but it does not define their full identity beyond the verse's subject phrase.
- Do not make verbal number or tense into a theological system; keep the reading anchored to the local sentence.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form names an action or speech event, here the act of saying or speaking.
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.
Indicative: presents the verbal idea as an assertion or statement in the clause.
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.
Plural: the form is grammatically plural and points to multiple subjects speaking together in this clause.
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 coordinated subject phrase, "τὸ Πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη," which stands before it.
The plural verb is governed by the combined subject and tells what the Spirit and the bride do in the verse.
It serves as the main speech verb for the joint invitation, introducing the words, "Ἐλθέ."
It does not by itself identify who the speakers are beyond the immediate subject phrase, and it does not alter the meaning of the quoted command.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The plural speech verb presents the Spirit and the bride together issuing the invitation to come.
Third-person plural present active indicative invitation verb. introduces the shared invitation that follows. Attached to the coordinated subject, the Spirit and the bride. Governed by the clause that joins both speakers before the invitation. The plural form marks the coordinated speakers; the invitation force is carried by the quoted imperative.
Who speaks the invitation in this clause? The plural verb presents the Spirit and the bride as speaking together.
Direct: The plural form directly supports English wording such as "the Spirit and the bride say."
The plural agreement marks the combined subject, but the grammar alone should not be pressed into a full theology of the speakers.
Plural number creates a separate doctrine of invitation: Plural number identifies the coordinated speakers; the verse and canon supply the theology of the invitation.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The text reads, "Καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν, Ἐλθέ," in the supplied witness.
The lexeme is λέγω, which in context means to say, speak, or declare.
The plural form fits the coordinated subject and marks a shared utterance, so the verse presents a joint invitation rather than an isolated remark.
The Spirit and the bride together voice the call, "Come," and the grammar supports that the invitation is collective and public.
Within the verse's sequence of invitations, the form supports the wider biblical theme of invitation and response without adding a separate doctrinal claim.
For readers and teachers, the form helps show that the line is spoken by more than one subject and should be heard as a corporate summons.
Do not derive extra theology from plural number alone, and do not treat the grammar as overriding the verse's immediate context.