Darby Bible
Revelation 17:8
8The 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.
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
6And 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. 7And 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. 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. 9Here is the mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains, whereon the woman sits. 10And 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.
Read all of Revelation 17Revelation 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
- beastθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342
- wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- comeμέλλωmellō · to ensueG3195
- abyssἄβυσσοςabussos · abyssG12
- goὑπάγωhupagō · to goG5217
- destructionἀπώλειαapōleia · destructionG684
- dwellκατοικέωkatoikeō · to dwellG2730
- earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
- namesὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
- writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
- bookβιβλίονbiblion · scrollG975
- lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
- wonderθαυμάζωthaumazō · to marvelG2296
- seeingὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- presentπάρειμιpareimi · be presentG3918
Cross-references for Revelation 17:8
- Revelation 9:2And it opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up smoke out of the pit as [the] smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit.
- Revelation 11:7And when they shall have completed their testimony, the beast who comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and shall conquer them, and shall kill them:
- Revelation 13:1And I stood upon the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, and upon its heads names of blasphemy.
- Revelation 17:11And the beast that was and is not, he also is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into destruction.
- Revelation 14:8And another, a second, angel followed, saying, Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen, which of the wine of the fury of her fornication has made all nations drink.
- Revelation 16:1And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the seven bowls of the fury of God upon the earth.
- Revelation 19:15And out of his mouth goes a sharp [two-edged] sword, that with it he might smite the nations; and he shall shepherd them with an iron rod; and he treads the wine-press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
- Revelation 20:10And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] both the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for the ages of ages.
- Daniel 7:11I beheld therefore, because of the voice of the great words that the horn spoke; I beheld till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given up to be burned with fire.
- Daniel 11:45And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the mountain of holy beauty; and he shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help him.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3Let not any one deceive you in any manner, because [it will not be] unless the apostasy have first come, and the man of sin have been revealed, the son of perdition;
- Revelation 13:3and one of his heads [was] as slain to death, and his wound of death had been healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast.
- Revelation 13:8and all that dwell on the earth shall do it homage, [every one] whose name had not been written from [the] founding of [the] world in the book of life of the slain Lamb.
- Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is [that] of life. And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books according to their works.
- Matthew 25:34Then shall the King say to those on his right hand, Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from [the] world's foundation:
- John 17:24Father, [as to] those whom thou hast given me, I desire that where I am they also may be with me, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst 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
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
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