Wahyu 17:3

17:3 So ¹  he carried me away in the Spirit ²  to a wilderness, ³  and there ⁴  I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

Wahyu 17:7

17:7 But ⁵  the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will interpret ⁶  for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

Wahyu 17:9

17:9 (This requires ⁷  a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains ⁸  the woman sits on. They are also seven kings:

[17:3]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.

[17:3]  ² tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[17:3]  ³ tn Or “desert.”

[17:3]  ⁴ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

[17:7]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[17:7]  ⁶ tn Grk “I will tell you,” but since what follows is the angel’s interpretation of the vision, “interpret for you” is the preferred translation here.

[17:9]  ⁷ tn Grk “Here is the mind that has wisdom.”

[17:9]  ⁸ tn It is important to note that the height of “mountains” versus “hills” or other topographical terms is somewhat relative. In terms of Palestinian topography, Mount Tabor (traditionally regarded as the mount of transfiguration) is some 1,800 ft (550 m) above sea level, while the Mount of Olives is only some 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem.