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 saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. I was greatly astounded when I saw her. 7But the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth – all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world – will be astounded when they see that the beast was, and is not, but is to come. 9(This requires a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains the woman sits on. They are also seven kings: 10five have fallen; one is, and the other has not yet come, but whenever he does come, he must remain for only a brief time.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• The beastὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• The beastθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342
• thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• thou sawestὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• shallμέλλωmellō · to ensueG3195
• ascendἀναβαίνωanabainō · to ascendG305
• outἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• of the bottomless pitἄβυσσοςabussos · abyssG12
• goὑπάγωhupagō · to goG5217
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• perditionἀπώλειαapōleia · destructionG684
• they that dwellκατοικέωkatoikeō · to dwellG2730
• onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• shall wonderθαυμάζωthaumazō · to marvelG2296
• namesὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
• wereγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
• the bookβιβλίονbiblion · scrollG975
• of lifeζωήzōē · lifeG2222
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the foundationκαταβολήkatabolē · beginningG2602
• of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• when they beholdβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
• thatτιςtis · oneG5100
• and yetκαίπερkaiper · althoughG2539

Cross-references for Revelation 17:8

• Revelation 9:2He opened the shaft of the abyss and smoke rose out of it like smoke from a giant furnace. The sun and the air were darkened with smoke from the shaft.
• Revelation 11:7When they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.
• Revelation 13:1Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, and on its heads a blasphemous name.
• Revelation 17:11The beast that was, and is not, is himself an eighth king and yet is one of the seven, and is going to destruction.
• Revelation 14:8A second angel followed the first, declaring: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion.”
• Revelation 16:1Then I heard a loud voice from the temple declaring to the seven angels: “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”
• Revelation 19:15From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful.
• Revelation 20:10And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.
• Daniel 7:11“Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into the flaming fire.
• Daniel 11:45He will pitch his royal tents between the seas toward the beautiful holy mountain. But he will come to his end, with no one to help him.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:3Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
• Revelation 13:3One of the beast’s heads appeared to have been killed, but the lethal wound had been healed. And the whole world followed the beast in amazement;
• Revelation 13:8and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.
• Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened – the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.
• 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 17:24“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation 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