Wahyu 17:1

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ¹  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ²  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ³  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

Wahyu 17:8

17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss ⁴  and then go to destruction. The ⁵  inhabitants of the earth – all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world – will be astounded when they see that ⁶  the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

Wahyu 17:11

17:11 The ⁷  beast that was, and is not, is himself an eighth king and yet is one of the seven, and is going to destruction.

Wahyu 17:14

17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ⁸  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

Wahyu 17:16

17:16 The ⁹  ten horns that you saw, and the beast – these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They ¹⁰  will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. ¹¹ 

[17:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ² tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[17:1]  ³ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

[17:8]  ⁴ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

[17:8]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:8]  ⁶ tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).

[17:11]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:14]  ⁸ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.

[17:16]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ¹⁰ tn A new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ¹¹ tn The final clause could also be turned into an adverbial clause of means: “They will consume her flesh by burning her with fire.”