Revelation 17:8

Revelation 17:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
• New International Version (NIV)The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Context of Revelation 17:8

6I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her. 7“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be. 9This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 10There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.

Revelation 17:8 word by word

Τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδες, ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ μέλλει ἀναβαίνειν ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγει. καὶ θαυμασθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, βλεπόντων τὸ θηρίον ὅτι ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ παρέσται.Read the interlinear

• Theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• beastθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• you sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• it wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• no moreοὐou · noG3756
• is aboutμέλλωmellō · to ensueG3195
• to come upἀναβαίνωanabainō · to ascendG305
• out ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• Abyssἄβυσσοςabussos · abyssG12
• goὑπάγωhupagō · to goG5217
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519
• destructionἀπώλειαapōleia · destructionG684
• dwellκατοικέωkatoikeō · to dwellG2730
• onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• namesὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
• were not writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
• Bookβιβλίονbiblion · scrollG975
• of Lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• foundationκαταβολήkatabolē · beginningG2602
• of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• will marvelθαυμάζωthaumazō · to marvelG2296
• when they seeβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• will beπάρειμιpareimi · be presentG3918

Cross-references for Revelation 17:8

• Revelation 9:2The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
• Revelation 11:7When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.
• Revelation 13:1Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
• Revelation 17:11The beast that was, and now is not, is an eighth king, who belongs to the other seven and is going into destruction.
• Revelation 14:8Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
• Revelation 16:1Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”
• Revelation 19:15And from His mouth proceeds a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
• Revelation 20:10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
• Daniel 7:11Then I kept watching because of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued to watch, the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
• Daniel 11:45He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:3Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
• Revelation 13:3One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.
• Revelation 13:8And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.
• Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.
• Matthew 25:34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
• John 17:24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Commentaries on Revelation 17:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition - The beast is the Latin kingdom; (̔ ); consequently the beast was, that is, was in existence previously to the time of St. John; (for Latinus was the first king of the Latins, and Numitor the last); is not now, because the Latin nation has ceased long ago to be an independent power, and is now under the dominion of the Romans; but shall ascend…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The beast that thou sawest was, and is not - In the close of the verse it is added, “and yet is” - “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.” There are three things affirmed here: first, that there is a sense in which it might be said of the power here referred to, that it “was,” or that, before this, it had an existence; second, that there was a sense in which it might be said that it is “not,” that is, that it had become practically extinct; and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-14Verses 7-14 The beast on which the woman sat was, and is not, and yet is. It was a seat of idolatry and persecution, and is not; not in the ancient form, which was pagan: yet it is; it is truly the seat of idolatry and tyranny, though of another sort and form. It would deceive into stupid and blind submission all the inhabitants of the earth within its influence, except the remnant of the elect. This beast was seven heads, seven mountains, the seven hills…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The beast … it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up: When Domitian was emperor, from AD 81 to 96, he was as evil as Nero. Both fiercely persecuted the church. Many believed Domitian embodied Nero’s spirit or was Nero himself. This is similar to how people thought John the Baptist embodied Elijah’s spirit (see Malachi 4:5; Matthew 11:14; Luke 1:17; John 1:21). you saw: The past tense shows the angel explained this after John’s vision. it was…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. beast ... was, and is not--(Compare Re 17:11). The time when the beast "is not" is the time during which it has "the deadly wound"; the time of the seventh head becoming Christian externally, when its beast-like character was put into suspension temporarily. The healing of its wound answers to its ascending out of the bottomless pit. The beast, or Antichristian world power, returns worse than ever, with satanic powers from hell (Re 11:7), not merely…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 17:8

• Book
• Horn
• Pit

In the dictionaries

• Book of Life
• Bottomless, Pit
• Antichrist
• Carry
• Abyss
• Ascend
• Damn; Damnation; Damnable
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Palestine
• Perdition

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