Revelation 17
Lexham English Bible
The Judgment of the Great Prostitute Babylon
17 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who live on the earth became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3 And he carried me away into the wilderness in the Spirit,[a] and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand full of detestable things and the unclean things of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.” 6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.
And I was greatly astonished when I saw her[b]. 7 And the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that has the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is going to come up from the abyss, and he is going to destruction. And those who live on the earth, whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished when they[c] see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present. 9 Here is the mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits[d] and they are seven kings. 10 Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and whenever he comes it is necessary for him to remain a short time. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, is also himself an eighth, and is of the seven, and he is going to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they will receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast. 13 These have one opinion, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and crowds and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and will make her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 For God put into their hearts to carry out his purpose and to make a unanimous decision[e] and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.
Footnotes
- Revelation 17:3 Or “in the spirit,” referring to the human spirit
- Revelation 17:6 Literally “I marveled a great marvel seeing her”
- Revelation 17:8 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“see”) which is understood as temporal
- Revelation 17:9 Literally “where the woman is seated on them”
- Revelation 17:17 Literally “to make one decision”
Revelation 17
English Standard Version
The Great Prostitute and the Beast
17 Then (A)one of the seven angels who had (B)the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of (C)the great prostitute (D)who is seated on many waters, 2 (E)with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and (F)with the wine of whose sexual immorality (G)the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And (H)he carried me away in the Spirit (I)into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on (J)a scarlet beast that was full of (K)blasphemous names, and (L)it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman (M)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned (N)with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand (O)a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of (P)mystery: (Q)“Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk (R)with the blood of the saints, the blood of (S)the martyrs of Jesus.[a]
When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you (T)the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw (U)was, and is not, and (V)is about to rise from (W)the bottomless pit[b] and (X)go to destruction. And (Y)the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in (Z)the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because (AA)it was and is not and is to come. 9 (AB)This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast (AC)that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And (AD)the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings (AE)for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They (AF)will make war on the Lamb, and (AG)the Lamb will conquer them, for he is (AH)Lord of lords and (AI)King of kings, and those with him are (AJ)called and chosen and faithful.”
15 And the angel[c] said to me, (AK)“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And (AL)the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast (AM)will hate the prostitute. They will make her (AN)desolate and (AO)naked, and (AP)devour her flesh and (AQ)burn her up with fire, 17 for (AR)God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and (AS)handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is (AT)the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 17:6 Greek the witnesses to Jesus
- Revelation 17:8 Greek the abyss
- Revelation 17:15 Greek he
Revelation 17
New King James Version
The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast
17 Then (A)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying [a]to me, “Come, (B)I will show you the judgment of (C)the great harlot (D)who sits on many waters, 2 (E)with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and (F)the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit (G)into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting (H)on a scarlet beast which was full of (I)names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman (J)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, (K)and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, (L)having in her hand a golden cup (M)full of abominations and the filthiness of [b]her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:
(N)MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw (O)the woman, drunk (P)with the blood of the saints and with the blood of (Q)the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
The Meaning of the Woman and the Beast
7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the [c]mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and (R)will ascend out of the bottomless pit and (S)go to [d]perdition. And those who (T)dwell on the earth (U)will marvel, (V)whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and [e]yet is.
9 (W)“Here is the mind which has wisdom: (X)The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must (Y)continue a short time. 11 The (Z)beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to [f]perdition.
12 (AA)“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 (AB)These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will (AC)overcome them, (AD)for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; (AE)and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
15 Then he said to me, (AF)“The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, (AG)are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. 16 And the ten horns which you [g]saw on the beast, (AH)these will hate the harlot, make her (AI)desolate (AJ)and naked, eat her flesh and (AK)burn her with fire. 17 (AL)For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, (AM)until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman whom you saw (AN)is that great city (AO)which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 17:1 NU, M omit to me
- Revelation 17:4 M the fornication of the earth
- Revelation 17:7 hidden truth
- Revelation 17:8 destruction
- Revelation 17:8 NU, M shall be present
- Revelation 17:11 destruction
- Revelation 17:16 NU, M saw, and the beast
Revelation 17
Legacy Standard Bible
The Woman and the Beast
17 (A)Then one of the (B)seven angels who have the (C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you (D)the judgment of the (E)great harlot who (F)sits on many waters, 2 with whom (G)the kings of the earth committed [a]sexual immorality, and (H)those who dwell on the earth were (I)made drunk with the wine of her [b]sexual immorality.” 3 And (J)he carried me away [c](K)in the Spirit (L)into a wilderness; then I saw a woman sitting on a (M)scarlet beast, full of (N)blasphemous names, having (O)seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman (P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and [d]adorned with gold and precious [e]stones and pearls, having in her hand (Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her [f]sexual immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a (R)mystery, “(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF (T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 Then I saw the woman drunk with (U)the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered [g]greatly. 7 And the angel said to me, “Why [h]do you wonder? I will tell you the (V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the (W)seven heads and the ten horns.
8 “(X)The beast that you saw (Y)was, and is not, and is about to (Z)come up out of the (AA)abyss and [i](AB)go to destruction. And (AC)those who dwell on the earth, (AD)whose name has not been written in the book of life (AE)from the foundation of the world, will (AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The (AH)seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven (AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 And the beast which (AJ)was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he (AK)goes to destruction. 12 And the (AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast (AM)for one hour. 13 These have (AN)one [j]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 These will wage (AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will (AP)overcome them, because He is (AQ)Lord of lords and (AR)King of kings, and (AS)those who are with Him are the (AT)called and elect and faithful.”
15 And he *said to me, “The (AU)waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are (AV)peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. 16 And the (AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will (AX)lay waste to her and make her (AY)naked, and will (AZ)eat her flesh and will (BA)burn her up with fire. 17 For (BB)God gave it in their hearts to do His [k]purpose both [l]by (BC)doing their own common purpose and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the (BD)words of God will be finished. 18 And the woman whom you saw is (BE)the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 17:2 Spiritual adulteries
- Revelation 17:2 Spiritual adulteries
- Revelation 17:3 Or in spirit
- Revelation 17:4 Lit gilded
- Revelation 17:4 Lit stone
- Revelation 17:4 Spiritual adulteries
- Revelation 17:6 Lit with great wonder
- Revelation 17:7 Lit have you wondered
- Revelation 17:8 One early ms is going
- Revelation 17:13 Or mind
- Revelation 17:17 Or mind
- Revelation 17:17 Lit even to do one mind and to give
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