Revelation 17

Revelation · Chapter 17

Revelation 17:5

1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:2With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.3So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.7And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.9And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.10And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.11And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.12And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.13These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.16And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.17For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Revelation 17:1-6The woman on the beast

About Revelation 17An angel shows John "the great whore that sitteth upon many waters," a woman on "a scarlet coloured beast... having seven heads and ten horns," with the name "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH," and "drunken with the blood of the saints." The angel explains: "The seven heads are seven mountains," "the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings," the waters "are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues," and "the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." The kings "shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings." Revelation 17:1Revelation 17:3Revelation 17:5Revelation 17:6Revelation 17:9Revelation 17:12Revelation 17:14Revelation 17:15Revelation 17:18

Who, where and when in this chapter

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
AndκαὶkaiG2532
and

καί (kai) καί, conj., and I. Copulative. 1. Connecting single words; (a) in general: Mat.2:18, 16:1, Mrk.2:15, Luk.8:15, Heb.1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mat.23:23, Luk.14:21, Rom.7:12, 9:4, al. (b) connecting numerals (WM, §37, 4): Jhn.2:20, Act.13:20; (with) joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mat.8:33, 26:59, Mrk.16:17, Act.5:29, al. 2. Connecting clauses and sentences: Mat.3:12, Act.5:21, al. mult.; esp. …

uponἐπὶepiG1909
upon/to/against

ἐπί (epi) ἐπί (before a smooth breathing ἐπ᾽, before a rough breathing ἐφ᾽), prep. with genitive, dative, accusative (accusative most frequently in NT), with primary sense of superposition, on, upon. I. C. genitive, 1. of place, answering the question, where? …

foreheadμέτωπονmetōponG3359
forehead

μέτωπον (metōpon) μέτωπον, -ου, τό (μετά + ὤψ, an eye), [in LXX for מֵצַח ;] the forehead: Rev.7:3 9:4 13:16 14:1, 9 17:5 20:4 22:4.† (AS)

of herαὐτῆςautēsG0846
it/s/he

αὐτός (autos) αὐτός, -ή, -ό, determinative pron., in late Gk. much more frequently than in cl. (WM, 178f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399). 1. Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., see infr., iii); (1) self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Luk.5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jhn.2:25; αὐ.ὑμεῖς, Jhn.3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Rom.15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jhn.2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ, Mrk.2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mrk.6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mat.3:4, Mrk.6:17, Jhn.16:27, 1Th.3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes weakened, ἐν αὐτῇ τ. ὥρᾳ, in that hour, Luk.10:21 (M, Pr., 91; …

a nameὄνομαonomaG3686
name

ὄνομα (onoma) ὄνομα, -τος, τό, [in LXX chiefly for שֵׁם ;] 1. in general, the name by which a person or thing is called: Mat.10:2, Mrk.3:16, Luk.1:63, Jhn.18:10, al.; ἄνθρωπος (etc.), ᾧ (οὗ) ὄ. (τ. ὄ), sc. ἦν or ἐστίν (BL, §30, 3), Mrk.14:32, Luk.1:26, 27; with same ellipsis, καὶ τ. ὄ. αὐτοῦ, Luk.1:5, Jhn.1:6, al.; ὀνόματι, before nom. prop., Mat.27:32, Mrk.5:22, Luk.1:5, Act.5:1, al.; accusative absol. (Bl., §34, 7), τοὔνομα (= τ. ὄνομα), Mat.27:57; ὄ. μοι (sc. ἐστίν; cf. Hom., Od., ix, 366), Mrk.5:9 (cf. Luk.8:30); ἔξειν ὄ., Rev.9:11; καλεῖν (ἐπιτιθέναι) ὄ. (Bl., §33, 1), Mat.1:21, Mrk.3:16; τ. ὄ. ἐν (τ …

written,γεγραμμένον,gegrammenonG1125
to write

γράφω (graphō) γράφω, [in LXX chiefly for כּתב ]; 1. to scrape, graze (Hom.), and later (Hdt.) to sketch, draw. 2. to write; (a) of forming or tracing letters on writing material: Jhn.8:[6], Gal.6:11, 2Th.3:17; (b) to express in writing, commit to writing, record: Luk.1:63, Jhn.19:21, 22 Rev.1:11, 19 al.; of scripture as a standing authority (Deiss., BS, 112ff.), γέγραπται, it stands written (Luther), Mat.4:4, Mrk.7:6, Luk.4:8, Rom.1:17, 1Co.1:31, al.; id. before ἐν, Mrk.1:2, Act.1:20, al.; with accusative, to write of: Jhn.1:46, Rom.10:5; before περί, Mat.26:24, Mrk.14:21, Jhn.5:46; al.; with dative (WM …

a mystery:μυστήριον,mustērionG3466
mystery

μυστήριον (mustērion) μυστήρισν, -ου, τό (μυέω), [in LXX: Dan LXX TH Dan.2:18 ff. (רָז), Tob.12:7, 11, Jdth.2:2, Wis.2:22 6:22 14:15, 23, Sir.3:18 22:22 27:16-17, 21, 2Ma.13:21 * ;] 1. that which is known to the μύστης (initiated), a mystery or secret doctrine, mostly in pl., τὰ μ. (Æsch., Hdt., al.). 2. In later writers (Menand., Incert., 168), that which may not be revealed (not, however, as in the modern sense, intrinsically difficult to understand), a secret or mystery of any kind (To, Jth, 2Mac, ll, with). …

BabylonΒαβυλὼνBabulōnG0897
Babylon

Βαβυλών (Babulōn) Βαβυλών, -ῶνος, ἡ (בָּבֶל, Heb. form of Assyr. Bab-ili, Gate of God), Babylon: Mat.1:11, 12 17, Act.7:43" (LXX) ; symbolically, of Rome: Rev.14:8 16:19 17:5 18:2, 10, 21, and prob. also 1Pe.5:13.† (AS)

Great,μεγάλη,megalēG3173
great

μέγας (megas) μέγας, μεγάλη, μέγα, [in LXX chiefly for גָּדוֹל, also for מַרְבֶּה ,רַב (incl. μείζων), רֹב (μέγιστος) ;] great; 1. of external form, bodily size, measure, extent: λίθος, Mat.2:60; δράκων, Rev.12:3; ἰχθῦς, Jhn.21:11; πόλις, Rev.11:8; μάχαιρα, Rev.6:4, al. 2. Of intensity and degree: δύναμις, Act.4:33; φόβος, Mrk.4:41; ἀγάπη, Jhn.15:13; ἄνεμος, 'ib. 6:18; κραυγή, Act.23:9; φῶς, Mat.4:16; πυρετός, Luk.4:38; θλίψις, Mat.24:21. 3. Of rank; …

motherμήτηρmētērG3384
mother

μήτηρ (mētēr) μήτηρ genitive, μητρός, ἡ, [in LXX chiefly for אֵם ;] mother: Mat.1:18 2:11, al.; figuratively, of one who takes the place of a mother, ἰδοὺ, ἡ μ. μου, Mat.12:49 (cf. Mat.12:50, Mrk.3:35, Jhn.19:27, Rom.16:13, 1Ti.5:2); of a city, ἥτις ἐσὶν μ. ἡμῶν, Gal.4:26; symbolically of Babylon, ἡ μ. τ. πορνῶν, Rev.17:5 (AS)

prostitutesπορνῶνpornōnG4204
prostitute

πόρνη (pornē) πόρνη, -ης, ἡ [in LXX chiefly for זָנָה ;] a prostitute, harlot: Mat.21:31-32, Luk.15:30, 1Co.6:15-16 Heb.11:31, Jas.2:25. Metaphorical (see Swete, Ap., 180 f.), of Babylon (i.e. Rome): Rev.17:1, 5 17:15-16 19:2.† (AS)

andκαὶkaiG2532
and

καί (kai) καί, conj., and I. Copulative. 1. Connecting single words; (a) in general: Mat.2:18, 16:1, Mrk.2:15, Luk.8:15, Heb.1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mat.23:23, Luk.14:21, Rom.7:12, 9:4, al. (b) connecting numerals (WM, §37, 4): Jhn.2:20, Act.13:20; (with) joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mat.8:33, 26:59, Mrk.16:17, Act.5:29, al. 2. Connecting clauses and sentences: Mat.3:12, Act.5:21, al. mult.; esp. …

abominationsβδελυγμάτωνbdelugmatōnG0946
abomination

βδέλυγμα (bdelugma) βδέλυγμα, -τος, τό (βδελύσσω), [in LXX chiefly for שֶׁקֶץ ,תּוֹעֵבָה ;] an abomination, a detestable thing: Luk.16:15, Rev.17:4, 5 21:27; τὸ β. τ. ἐρημώσεως (Dan LXX 12:11, cf . 1Ma.1:54; DB, i, 12f.; DCG, i, 6f.), Mrk.13:14, Mat.24:15 (Cremer, 138).† (AS)

earth.γῆς.gēsG1093G
earth: planet

γῆ (gē) γῆ, γῆς, ἡ, [in LXX for אֲדָמָה ,אֶרֶץ, etc. ;] 1. the earth, world: Luk.21:35, Act.1:8, Heb.11:13, Rev.3:10, al.; opposite to οὐρανός, Mat.5:18 11:25, Mrk.13:27, al. 2. land; (a) opposite to sea or water: Mrk.4:1, Luk.5:3, Jhn.6:21, al.; (b) as subject to cultivation: Mat.13:5, Mrk.4:8, Luk.13:7, Heb.6:7, al.; (with) the ground: Mat.10:29, Mrk.8:6, Luk.24:5, Jhn.8:6, al.; (d) a region, country: Luk.4:25, Rom.9:28, Jas.5:17; γῆ Ἰσραήλ, Mat.2:20, 21; Χαλδαίων, Act.7:4; ἡ Ἰουδαία γῆ, Jhn.3:22; with genitive of person(s), Act.7:3. (AS)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.