Revelation 17:4

Revelation 17:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
• English Standard Version (ESV)The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.

Context of Revelation 17:4

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. The 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. 5The name written on her forehead was a mystery: babylon the great the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth. 6I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

Revelation 17:4 word by word

καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἦν περιβεβλημένη πορφυροῦν καὶ κόκκινον καὶ κεχρυσωμένη χρυσίῳ καὶ λίθῳ τιμίῳ καὶ μαργαρίταις, ἔχουσα ποτήριον χρυσοῦν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτῆς γέμον βδελυγμάτων καὶ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the womanὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
• wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• arrayed inπεριβάλλωperiballō · to clotheG4016
• purpleπορφύραporphura · purple clothG4209
• scarlet colourκόκκινοςkokkinos · scarletG2847
• deckedχρυσόωchrusoō · to gildG5558
• with goldχρυσόςchrusos · goldG5557
• preciousτίμιοςtimios · preciousG5093
• stonesλίθοςlithos · stoneG3037
• pearlsμαργαρίτηςmargaritēs · pearlG3135
• havingἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a goldenχρύσεοςchruseos · goldenG5552
• cupποτήριονpotērion · cupG4221
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• handχείρcheir · handG5495
• fullγέμωgemō · be fullG1073
• of abominationsβδέλυγμαbdelugma · abominationG946
• filthinessἀκαθάρτηςakathartēs · uncleannessG168
• fornicationπορνείαporneia · sexual sinG4202

Cross-references for Revelation 17:4

• Revelation 18:7Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow; I will never mourn.’
• Daniel 11:38Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
• Revelation 14:8A second angel followed and said, “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
• Revelation 18:6Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
• 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.”
• Jeremiah 51:7Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord’s hand; she made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they have now gone mad.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:3Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
• Deuteronomy 29:17You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold.
• 1 Kings 14:24There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
• 2 Kings 21:2He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.
• Isaiah 66:3But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person, and whoever offers a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incense is like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations;
• Ezekiel 20:30“Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images?
• Hosea 9:10“When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.
• Ezra 9:11you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: ‘The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other.
• Lamentations 1:9Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. “Look, Lord, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.”
• Ezekiel 24:11Then set the empty pot on the coals till it becomes hot and its copper glows, so that its impurities may be melted and its deposit burned away.

Commentaries on Revelation 17:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication - This strikingly represents the most pompous and costly manner in which the Latin Church has held forth to the nations the rites and ceremonies of its idolatrous and corrupt worship.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour - On the nature of the scarlet color, see the notes on Revelation 17:3. The purple color - ́ porphura- was obtained from a species of shellfish found on the coasts of the Mediterranean, which yielded a reddish-purple dye, much prized by the ancients. Robes dyed in that color were commonly worn by persons of rank and wealth, Mark 15:17, Mark 15:20; Luke 16:19. The purple color contains more blue than…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4John is taken in the spirit into the wilderness, which he uses to describe a visionary experience (see Revelation 1:10; 4:2). He sees a representation of Rome's moral decay and extreme luxury (see Revelation 18:12–13, 16). This shows how such wealth can be offensive to God. The beast here resembles the second figure in the evil trinity (see Revelation 13:1–4). blasphemous names: See Revelation 13:5–6. purple and scarlet: Clothing in these colors signified…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The color scarlet, it is remarkable, is that reserved for popes and cardinals. Paul II made it penal for anyone but cardinals to wear hats of scarlet; compare Roman Ceremonial [3.5.5]. This book was compiled several centuries ago by Marcellus, a Romish archbishop, and dedicated to Leo X. In it are enumerated five different articles of dress of scarlet color. A vest is mentioned studded with pearls. The Pope's miter is of gold and precious stones. These…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 17:4

• Colors
• Horn
• Idolatry
• Pearl
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Precious Stones
• Abomination
• Antichrist
• Carry
• Colour
• Cup
• Pearl
• Array
• Color; Colors
• Crime; Crimes

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