Καὶ τὴν αὐλὴν τὴν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ναοῦ ἔκβαλε ἔξω καὶ μὴ αὐτὴν μετρήσῃς, ὅτι ἐδόθη τοῖς ἔθνεσι, καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν πατήσουσι μῆνας τεσσαράκοντα δύο. (Revelation 11:2)
And the court which is outside the temple, cast it out and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months.
Revelation 11:2 stands at the crossroads of vision, symbolism, and grammar. The seer John receives a command that involves both physical action and prophetic restraint: measure the sanctuary—but exclude the outer court. The syntax of the verse carries the weight of this symbolic boundary. Imperatives, prohibitions, perfective aorists, and a future prophetic verb combine to shape an image of exclusion, judgment, and divine timetable. Here, grammar becomes the architecture of apocalyptic meaning.
1. The Outer Court Excluded: καὶ τὴν αὐλὴν τὴν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ναοῦ ἔκβαλε ἔξω
The phrase opens with direct object emphasis: τὴν αὐλὴν (“the courtyard”). The repeated article plus attributive position τὴν ἔξωθεν (“the one outside”) highlights its spatial and symbolic distance from the sanctified interior of the temple. The prepositional genitive τοῦ ναοῦ further clarifies its relationship to the holy structure.
The imperative ἔκβαλε (aorist active imperative of ἐκβάλλω, “throw out, exclude”) is sharp, decisive, and unambiguous. The aorist imperative commands a single, complete act—“cast it completely outside.” The adverb ἔξω (“outside”) intensifies the separation and creates a rhythmic doubling (ἔκβαλε ἔξω), expressing total exclusion both syntactically and symbolically.
John’s grammar here enacts the movement: the object is pushed outward syntactically and semantically. The temple’s boundaries are linguistically secured before they are theologically interpreted.
2. Prohibited Measurement: καὶ μὴ αὐτὴν μετρήσῃς
The negative imperative μὴ … μετρήσῃς (aorist subjunctive used as prohibition) follows. The aorist form again signals a definitive act being forbidden: “Do not measure it at all.” The pronoun αὐτὴν connects this prohibition back to the excluded courtyard, reinforcing that its exclusion is permanent and non-negotiable.
Where measurement normally signifies protection or divine preservation (cf. Ezekiel’s temple vision), the prohibition implies abandonment, profanation, and unprotected exposure. Grammar becomes theology: what is measured is owned, preserved, safeguarded—what is not measured is relinquished.
3. The Reason Clause: ὅτι ἐδόθη τοῖς ἔθνεσι
The conjunction ὅτι introduces the rationale behind the prohibition. The verb ἐδόθη (aorist passive indicative of δίδωμι, “was given”) is both passive and divine in tone. In apocalyptic literature, the divine passive often hints at God’s sovereign orchestration of events.
The indirect object τοῖς ἔθνεσι (“to the nations/Gentiles”) identifies the new custodians of the outer court, though custody here is not blessing but judgment and desecration. The aorist marks this as a completed act in the prophetic vision: God has already delivered the court to the nations for their allotted time.
This clause turns grammar into prophetic history—what is given to the nations becomes what is withheld from divine measurement.
4. The Trampling to Come: καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν πατήσουσι
Another direct object appears with fronted emphasis: τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν (“the holy city”). The double article intensifies solemnity. The future active indicative πατήσουσι (from πατέω, “to trample”) conveys prophetic certainty, not mere possibility. This verb appears in contexts of humiliation, dominance, and profanation.
While the outer court is excluded and handed over, the city itself becomes the arena of future distress. The grammar creates a progression: exclusion → abandonment → desecration. Each step carries theological freight expressed through verbal mood and tense.
5. The Appointed Duration: μῆνας τεσσαράκοντα δύο
The accusative of time μῆνας (“months”) defines the length of the trampling: τεσσαράκοντα δύο (“forty-two”). This symbolic period—also expressed as 1,260 days or “a time, times, and half a time”—is a recurring apocalyptic duration. Grammatically, the phrase anchors the future trampling in temporal specificity: it is not endless, but divinely limited.
The syntax places the time period directly after the verb πατήσουσι, highlighting that the suffering is both divinely permitted and divinely bounded.
Syntax Table: Boundaries, Exclusion, and Prophetic Time
| Greek Phrase | Grammar Role | Interpretive Insight |
|---|---|---|
| τὴν αὐλὴν τὴν ἔξωθεν | Accusative object with attributive article | Emphasizes spatial and symbolic distance from sacred space |
| ἔκβαλε ἔξω | Aorist imperative + adverb | Commands decisive exclusion |
| μὴ … μετρήσῃς | Negative aorist subjunctive (prohibition) | Forbids even a single act of measuring—complete exclusion |
| ἐδόθη τοῖς ἔθνεσι | Aorist passive | Indicates divine allowance of Gentile control |
| τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν | Accusative object with double article | Elevates the city’s sanctity, heightening the shock of trampling |
| πατήσουσι | Future indicative | Prophetic certainty of future desecration |
| μῆνας τεσσαράκοντα δύο | Accusative of time | Defines a divinely limited duration of judgment |
Prophetic Boundaries: When Grammar Draws a Line
Revelation 11:2 portrays a world where divine protection and divine judgment coexist. The grammar itself creates boundaries: what is measured is sheltered; what is excluded is exposed. The aorist imperatives communicate decisive divine commands, the passive ἐδόθη reveals sovereign allowance, and the future πατήσουσι declares prophetic inevitability.
The verse teaches its readers—through syntax—that God’s sovereignty governs both sacred space and historical events. Exclusion is not abandonment but orchestration; trampling is not chaos but timed judgment. The grammar of Revelation 11:2 is the grammar of eschatology—precise, deliberate, and full of theological architecture.
Thus, this single verse becomes a linguistic map of sacred geography and divine timing: a measured sanctuary, an unmeasured court, a city given over, and a countdown already set by heaven’s decree.
