Revelation 17:1

Revelation 17:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
• New International Version (NIV)One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

Context of Revelation 17:1

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the judgment of the notorious prostitute who is seated on many waters. 2The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those who live on the earth became drunk on the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3Then he carried me away in the Spirit to a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

Revelation 17:1 word by word

Καὶ ἦλθεν εἷς ἐκ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων τῶν ἐχόντων τὰς ἑπτὰ φιάλας καὶ ἐλάλησεν μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ λέγων δεῦρο, δείξω σοι τὸ κρίμα τῆς πόρνης τῆς μεγάλης τῆς καθημένης ἐπὶ ὑδάτων πολλῶν,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• there cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• theἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
• sevenἑπτάhepta · sevenG2033
• angelsἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
• which hadἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• theφιάληphialē · bowlG5357
• talkedλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• Come hitherδεῦροdeuro · comeG1204
• I will shewδεικνύωdeiknuō · to showG1166
• unto theeσύsu · youG4771
• the judgmentκρίμαkrima · judgmentG2917
• of the greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• whoreπόρνηpornē · prostituteG4204
• that sittethκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
• uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• watersὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204

Cross-references for Revelation 17:1

• Revelation 15:1Then I saw another great and awe-inspiring sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven last plagues; for with them God’s wrath will be completed.
• Revelation 21:9Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
• Revelation 4:1After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
• Revelation 21:15The one who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
• Luke 9:30Suddenly, two men were talking with him — Moses and Elijah.
• Luke 24:32They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”
• Revelation 16:19The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s presence; he gave her the cup filled with the wine of his fierce anger.
• Revelation 18:16saying, Woe, woe, the great city, dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls;
• Revelation 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls. She had a golden cup in her hand filled with everything detestable and with the impurities of her prostitution.
• Revelation 19:2because his judgments are true and righteous, because he has judged the notorious prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality; and he has avenged the blood of his servants that was on her hands.
• Isaiah 57:3But come here, you witch’s sons, offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!
• Nahum 3:4Because of the continual prostitution of the prostitute, the attractive mistress of sorcery, who treats nations and clans like merchandise by her prostitution and sorcery,
• Revelation 17:15He also said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
• Jeremiah 51:13You who reside by abundant water, rich in treasures, your end has come, your life thread is cut.

Commentaries on Revelation 17:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters - That idolatrous worship is frequently represented in Scripture under the character of a whore or whoredom, is evident from numerous passages which it is unnecessary to quote. See 1 Chronicles 5:25; Ezekiel 16:1-63; 23:1-49, etc. The woman mentioned here is…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials - See the notes on Revelation 15:1, Revelation 15:7. Reference is again made to these angels in the same manner in Revelation 21:9, where one of them says that he would show to John “the bride, the Lamb‘s wife.” No particular one is specified. The general idea seems to be, that to those seven angels was entrusted the execution of the last things, or the winding up of affairs introductory to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1One of the angels who had the vials, explains the meaning of the former vision of the antichristian beast that was to reign 1260 years, and then to be destroyed. (1-6) And interprets the mystery of the woman, and the beast that had seven heads and ten horns. (7-18) Verses 1-6 Rome clearly appears to be meant in this chapter. Pagan Rome subdued and ruled with military power, not by art and flatteries. She left the nations in general to their ancient usages…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1One of the angels who carry out God’s judgment speaks to John and calls him to a new scene. In this scene, John sees the coming judgment of the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. Rome, which stood on the Tiber River, controlled major centers of power and the water trade routes across the Mediterranean world. Its influence reached from the British Isles to the Euphrates River.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-18As Re 16:12 stated generally the vial judgment about to be poured on the harlot, Babylon's power, as the seventeenth and eighteen chapters give the same in detail, so the nineteenth chapter gives in detail the judgment on the beast and the false prophet, summarily alluded to in Re 16:13-15, in connection with the Lord's coming. 1. unto me--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit. many--So A. But B, "the many waters" (Jr 51:13); Re 17:15, below, explains…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 17:1

• Idolatry
• Water

In the dictionaries

• Antichrist
• Carry
• Harlot
• Damn; Damnation; Damnable
• Danites
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Palestine
• Revelation
• Revelation of John
• Samson

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