American Standard Version
Revelation 17:4
4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication,
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
2with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication. 3And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication, 5and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.
Read all of Revelation 17Revelation 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
- womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
- wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- purpleπορφύρεοςporphurous · purpleG4210
- scarletκόκκινοςkokkinos · scarletG2847
- goldχρυσίονchrusion · goldG5553
- preciousτίμιοςtimios · preciousG5093
- stoneλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
- pearlsμαργαρίτηςmargaritēs · pearlG3135
- handχείρcheir · handG5495
- goldenχρύσεοςchruseos · goldenG5552
- cupποτήριονpotērion · cupG4221
- fullγέμωgemō · be fullG1073
- abominationsβδέλυγμαbdelugma · abominationG946
- evenκαίkai · andG2532
- uncleanἀκάθαρτοςakathartos · uncleanG169
Cross-references for Revelation 17:4
- Revelation 18:7How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning.
- Daniel 11:38But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.
- Revelation 14:8And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
- Revelation 18:6Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double.
- Revelation 19:2for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
- Jeremiah 51:7Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
- Deuteronomy 29:17and ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them);
- 1 Kings 14:24and there were also sodomites in the land: they did according to all the abominations of the nations which Jehovah drove out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Kings 21:2And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.
- Isaiah 66:3He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as he that offereth swine’s blood; he that burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations:
- Ezekiel 20:30Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Do ye pollute yourselves after the manner of your fathers? and play ye the harlot after their abominations?
- Hosea 9:10I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree at its first season: but they came to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves unto the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they loved.
- Ezra 9:11which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness:
- Lamentations 1:9Her filthiness was in her skirts; she remembered not her latter end; Therefore is she come down wonderfully; she hath no comforter: Behold, O Jehovah, my affliction; for the enemy hath magnified himself.
- Ezekiel 24:11Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the rust of it 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
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries