Revelation 17:18

Revelation 17:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
• New International Version (NIV)The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Context of Revelation 17:18

16The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire. 17For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled. And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”

Revelation 17:18 word by word

καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἣν εἶδες, ἔστιν ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη ἡ ἔχουσα βασιλείαν ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• thou sawestὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• that greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• cityπόλιςpolis · cityG4172
• whichἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• reignethβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
• overἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the kingsβασιλεύςbasileus · kingG935
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093

Cross-references for Revelation 17:18

• Revelation 16:19The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon’s sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of his fierce wrath.
• Revelation 18:2He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal.
• Daniel 2:40Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.
• Daniel 7:23Then he said to me, “This fourth beast is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be different from all the others. It will devour the whole world, trampling and crushing everything in its path.
• Luke 2:1At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
• Revelation 12:4His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.

Commentaries on Revelation 17:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth - It has already been shown that the woman sitting upon the seven-headed beast is a representation of the Latin Church; here we have the greatest assurance that it is so, because the woman is called a city, which is a much plainer emblem of a Church, as the word is used unequivocally in this sense in so many parts of Scripture that we cannot well mistake its…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18And the woman which thou sawest - Revelation 17:3. Is that great city - Represents that great city. Which reigneth over the kings of the earth - Rome would of course be understood by this language in the time of John, and all the circumstances, as we have seen, combined to show that Rome, in some form of its dominion, is intended. Even the name could hardly have designated it more clearly, and all expositors agree in supposing that Rome, either as pagan…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-18Verses 15-18 God so ruled the hearts of these kings, by his power over them, and by his providence, that they did those things, without intending it, which he purposed and foretold. They shall see their folly, and how they have been bewitched and enslaved by the harlot, and be made instruments in her destruction. She was that great city which reigned over the kings of the earth, when John had this vision; and every one knows Rome to be that city…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-18The main drama in this section shows the powers that stand against God and cause the persecution and suffering of God’s people. Rome’s power attracted and impressed many people (Revelation 17:6). John clearly describes Rome's sins and shares God's judgment (Revelation 17:3–18) before he describes Rome’s fall (18:1–24) and heaven’s response to that fall (19:1–10).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. reigneth--literally, "hath kingship over the kings." The harlot cannot be a mere city literally, but is called so in a spiritual sense (Re 11:8). Also the beast cannot represent a spiritual power, but a world power. In this verse the harlot is presented before us ripe for judgment. The eighteenth chapter details that judgment.Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 17:18

• Women

In the dictionaries

• Antichrist
• Carry
• Babylon in the New Testament
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Images
• Palestine
• Perdition
• Reign
• Revelation of John
• Babylon

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