Revelation of John Chapter 17
Other Translations
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And one of the seven angels, which had the seven bowls, came and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I will shew thee the sentence of the great harlot who sits upon the many waters;
2
with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and they that dwell on the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3
And he carried me away in spirit to a desert; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4
And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication;
5
and upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, great Babylon, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth.
6
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I wondered, seeing her, with great wonder.
7
And the angel said to me, Why hast thou wondered? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.
8
The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into destruction: and they who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written from the founding of the world in the book of life, shall wonder, seeing the beast, that it was, and is not, and shall be present.
9
Here is the mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains, whereon the woman sits.
10
And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes he must remain [only] a little while.
11
And the beast that was and is not, he also is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into destruction.
12
And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom, but receive authority as kings one hour with the beast.
13
These have one mind, and give their power and authority to the beast.
14
These 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 called, and chosen, and faithful.
15
And he says to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
16
And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire;
17
forGod has given to their hearts to do his mind, and to act with one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words ofGod shall be fulfilled.
18
And the woman which thou sawest is the great city, which has kingship over the kings of the earth.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
1
Et venit unus de septem Angelis, qui habebant septem phialas, et locutus est mecum, dicens: Veni ostendam tibi damnationem meretricis magnæ, quæ sedet super aquas multas,
2
cum qua fornicati sunt reges terræ, et inebriati sunt qui inhabitant terram de vino prostitutionis eius.
3
Et abstulit me in spiritu in desertum. Et vidi mulierem sedentem super bestiam coccineam, plenam nominibus blasphemiæ, habentem capita septem, et cornua decem.
4
Et mulier erat circumdata purpura, et coccino, et inaurata auro, et lapide pretioso, et margaritis, habens poculum aureum in manu sua, plenum abominatione, et immunditia fornicationis eius:
5
Et in fronte eius nomen scriptum: Mysterium: Babylon magna, mater fornicationum, et abominationum terræ.
6
Et vidi mulierem ebriam de sanguine sanctorum, et de sanguine martyrum Iesu. Et miratus sum cum vidissem illam admiratione magna.
7
Et dixit mihi Angelus: Quare miraris? Ego dicam tibi sacramentum mulieris, et bestiæ, quæ portat eam, quæ habet capita septem, et cornua decem.
8
Bestia, quam vidisti, fuit, et non est, et ascensura est de abysso, et in interitum ibit: et mirabuntur inhabitantes terram (quorum non sunt scripta nomina in Libro vitæ a constitutione mundi) videntes bestiam, quæ erat, et non est.
9
Et hic est sensus, qui habet sapientiam. Septem capita: septem montes sunt, super quos mulier sedet, et reges septem sunt.
10
Quinque ceciderunt, unus est, et alius nondum venit: et cum venerit, oportet illum breve tempus manere.
11
Et bestia, quæ erat, et non est: et ipsa octava est: et de septem est, et in interitum vadit.
12
Et decem cornua, quæ vidisti, decem reges sunt: qui regnum nondum acceperunt, sed potestatem tamquam reges una hora accipient post bestiam.
13
Hi unum consilium habent, et virtutem, et potestatem suam bestiæ tradent.
14
Hi cum Agno pugnabunt, et Agnus vincet illos: quoniam Dominus dominorum est, et Rex regum, et qui cum illo sunt, vocati, electi, et fideles.
15
Et dixit mihi: Aquæ, quas vidisti ubi meretrix sedet, populi sunt, et Gentes, et linguæ.
16
Et decem cornua, quæ vidisti in bestia: hi odient fornicariam, et desolatam facient illam, et nudam, et carnes eius manducabunt, et ipsam igni concremabunt.
17
Deus enim dedit in corda eorum ut faciant quod placitum est illi: ut dent regnum suum bestiæ donec consummentur verba Dei.
18
Et mulier, quam vidisti, est civitas magna, quæ habet regnum super reges terræ.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
1
And there came one of the seven messengers, who were having the seven vials, and he spake with me, saying to me, `Come, I will shew to thee the judgment of the great whore, who is sitting upon the many waters,
2
with whom the kings of the earth did commit whoredom; and made drunk from the wine of her whoredom were those inhabiting the earth;'
3
and he carried me away to a wilderness in the Spirit, and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of evil-speaking, having seven heads and ten horns,
4
and the woman was arrayed with purple and scarlet-colour, and gilded with gold, and precious stone, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and uncleanness of her whoredom,
5
and upon her forehead was a name written: `Secret, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whores, and the Abominations of the earth.'
6
And I saw the woman drunken from the blood of the saints, and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, and I did wonder--having seen her--with great wonder;
7
and the messenger said to me, `Wherefore didst thou wonder? I--I will tell thee the secret of the woman and of the beast that <FI>is<Fi> carrying her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.
8
`The beast that thou didst see: it was, and it is not; and it is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go away to destruction, and wonder shall those dwelling upon the earth, whose names have not been written upon the scroll of the life from the foundation of the world, beholding the beast that was, and is not, although it is.
9
`Here <FI>is<Fi> the mind that is having wisdom; the seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman doth sit,
10
and there are seven kings, the five did fall, and the one is, the other did not yet come, and when he may come, it behoveth him to remain a little time;
11
and the beast that was, and is not, he also is eighth, and out of the seven he is, and to destruction he doth go away.
12
`And the ten horns that thou sawest, are ten kings, who a kingdom did not yet receive, but authority as kings the same hour do receive with the beast,
13
these have one mind, and their own power and authority to the beast they shall give over;
14
these with the Lamb shall make war, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because Lord of lords he is, and King of kings, and those with him are called, and choice, and stedfast.'
15
And he saith to me, `The waters that thou didst see, where the whore doth sit, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues;'
16
and the ten horns that thou didst see upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her in fire,
17
for God did give into their hearts to do its mind, and to make one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast till the sayings of God may be complete,
18
and the woman that thou didst see is the great city that is having reign over the kings of the land.'
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).