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:
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters.

Context of Revelation 17:1

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. 2With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” 3Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There 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 15:1I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.
• Revelation 21:9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
• Revelation 4:1After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first 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 angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.
• Luke 9:30Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.
• Luke 24:32They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
• Revelation 16:19The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.
• Revelation 18:16and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
• Revelation 17:4The 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.
• Revelation 19:2for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
• Isaiah 57:3“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
• Nahum 3:4all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute, alluring, the mistress of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft.
• Revelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.
• Jeremiah 51:13You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come, the time for you to be destroyed.

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