Revelation 17:4

Revelation 17:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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:
• New International Version (NIV)The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.

Context of Revelation 17:4

2she with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality, and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.” 3And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was entirely covered with blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and the filth of her [sexual] immorality. 5And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES (false religions, heresies) AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints (God’s people), and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus [who were martyred]. When I saw her, I wondered in amazement.

Revelation 17:4 word by word

καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἦν περιβεβλημένη πορφυροῦν καὶ κόκκινον καὶ κεχρυσωμένη χρυσίῳ καὶ λίθῳ τιμίῳ καὶ μαργαρίταις, ἔχουσα ποτήριον χρυσοῦν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτῆς γέμον βδελυγμάτων καὶ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the womanὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• arrayed inπεριβάλλωperiballō · to clotheG4016
• purpleπορφύραporphura · purple clothG4209
• scarlet colourκόκκινοςkokkinos · scarletG2847
• deckedχρυσόωchrusoō · to gildG5558
• with goldχρυσόςchrusos · goldG5557
• preciousτίμιοςtimios · preciousG5093
• stonesλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
• pearlsμαργαρίτηςmargaritēs · pearlG3135
• havingἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a goldenχρύσεοςchruseos · goldenG5552
• cupποτήριονpotērion · cupG4221
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• handχείρcheir · handG5495
• fullγέμωgemō · be fullG1073
• of abominationsβδέλυγμαbdelugma · abominationG946
• filthinessἀκαθάρτηςakathartēs · uncleannessG168
• fornicationπορνείαporneia · sexual sinG4202

Cross-references for Revelation 17:4

• Revelation 18:7To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled and gloated in her sensuality [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that same degree impose on her torment and anguish, and mourning and grief; for in her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as a queen [on a throne] and I am not a widow, and will never, ever see mourning or experience grief.’
• Daniel 11:38Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold and silver, with precious stones and with expensive things.
• Revelation 14:8Then another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality [corrupting them with idolatry].”
• Revelation 18:6Repay to her even as she has repaid others, and pay back [to her] double [her torment] in accordance with what she has done; in the cup [of sin and suffering] which she mixed, mix a double portion [of perfect justice] for her.
• Revelation 19:2because His judgments are true and righteous. He has judged [convicted and pronounced sentence on] the great prostitute (idolatress) who was corrupting and ruining and poisoning the earth with her adultery (idolatry), and He has imposed the penalty for the blood of His bond-servants on her.”
• Jeremiah 51:7Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations drank her wine; Therefore the nations have gone mad.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:3Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed],
• Deuteronomy 29:17and you have seen their detestable acts and their [repulsive] idols of wood and stone, [lifeless images] of silver and gold, which they had with them),
• 1 Kings 14:24There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They committed all the repulsive acts of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the Israelites.
• 2 Kings 21:2He did [great] evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with the [idolatrous] repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons (descendants) of Israel.
• Isaiah 66:3“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck; He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood; He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol. Such people have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their repulsive acts;
• Ezekiel 20:30Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Will you [exiles] defile yourselves in the same manner as your fathers? And will you prostitute yourselves before their loathsome and heinous things?
• Hosea 9:10I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness [an unexpected and refreshing delight]; I saw your fathers (ancestors) as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season, But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shamefulness [the worship of Baal], And [because of their spiritual and physical adultery] they became as detestable and loathsome as the thing they loved.
• Ezra 9:11which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is a defiled land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their repulsive acts which have filled it from one end to the other along with their impurity.
• Lamentations 1:9Her (ceremonial) uncleanness was on her skirts; She did not [seriously] consider her future. Therefore she has come down [from throne to slavery] in an astonishing manner; She has no comforter. “O Lord” [cries Jerusalem], “look at my affliction, For the enemy has magnified himself [in triumph]!”
• Ezekiel 24:11Then set the empty pot (Jerusalem) back on the coals So that it may be hot And its bronze may glow And its filthiness may be melted And its rust (scum) may be consumed.

Commentaries on Revelation 17:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication - This strikingly represents the most pompous and costly manner in which the Latin Church has held forth to the nations the rites and ceremonies of its idolatrous and corrupt worship.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour - On the nature of the scarlet color, see the notes on Revelation 17:3. The purple color - ́ porphura- was obtained from a species of shellfish found on the coasts of the Mediterranean, which yielded a reddish-purple dye, much prized by the ancients. Robes dyed in that color were commonly worn by persons of rank and wealth, Mark 15:17, Mark 15:20; Luke 16:19. The purple color contains more blue than…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4John is taken in the spirit into the wilderness, which he uses to describe a visionary experience (see Revelation 1:10; 4:2). He sees a representation of Rome's moral decay and extreme luxury (see Revelation 18:12–13, 16). This shows how such wealth can be offensive to God. The beast here resembles the second figure in the evil trinity (see Revelation 13:1–4). blasphemous names: See Revelation 13:5–6. purple and scarlet: Clothing in these colors signified…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The color scarlet, it is remarkable, is that reserved for popes and cardinals. Paul II made it penal for anyone but cardinals to wear hats of scarlet; compare Roman Ceremonial [3.5.5]. This book was compiled several centuries ago by Marcellus, a Romish archbishop, and dedicated to Leo X. In it are enumerated five different articles of dress of scarlet color. A vest is mentioned studded with pearls. The Pope's miter is of gold and precious stones. These…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 17:4

• Colors
• Horn
• Idolatry
• Pearl
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Precious Stones
• Abomination
• Antichrist
• Carry
• Colour
• Cup
• Pearl
• Array
• Color; Colors
• Crime; Crimes

Commentaries on Revelation 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings