Revelation 17:9

Revelation 17:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
• New International Version (NIV)“This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits.
• English Standard Version (ESV)This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

Context of Revelation 17:9

7“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits. 8The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died. “This calls for a mind with understanding: The seven heads of the beast represent the seven hills where the woman rules. They also represent seven kings. 10Five kings have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief. 11“The scarlet beast that was, but is no longer, is the eighth king. He is like the other seven, and he, too, is headed for destruction.

Revelation 17:9 word by word

ὧδε ὁ νοῦς ὁ ἔχων σοφίαν. αἱ ἑπτὰ κεφαλαὶ ἑπτὰ ὄρη εἰσίν, ὅπου ἡ γυνὴ κάθηται ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν. καὶ βασιλεῖς ἑπτά εἰσιν·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• And hereὧδεhōde · hereG5602
• the mindνοῦςnous · mindG3563
• which hathἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• wisdomσοφίαsophia · wisdomG4678
• The sevenἑπτάhepta · sevenG2033
• headsκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• mountainsὄροςoros · mountainG3735
• ·ὅπουhopou · where(-ever)G3699
• onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• whichαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• the womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
• sittethκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521

Cross-references for Revelation 17:9

• Revelation 13:18Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
• Daniel 12:4But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”
• Hosea 14:9Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
• Matthew 13:11He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
• Matthew 24:15“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
• Revelation 17:3So the angel took me in the Spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it.
• Revelation 13:1Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God.

Commentaries on Revelation 17:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Here is the mind which hath wisdom - It was said before, Revelation 13:18, Here is wisdom. Let him that hath A Mind, or understanding, ( ), count the number of the beast. Wisdom, therefore, here means a correct view of what is intended by the number 666; consequently the parallel passage, Here is The Mind which hath Wisdom, is a declaration that the number of the beast must first be understood, before the angel's interpretation of the vision concerning…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And here is the mind which hath wisdom - Here is what requires wisdom to interpret it; or, here is a case in which the mind that shows itself able to explain it will evince true sagacity. So in Revelation 13:18. See the notes on that place. Prof. Stuart renders this, “Here is a meaning which compriseth wisdom.” It is undoubtedly implied that the symbol might be understood - whether in the time of John, or afterward, he does not say; but it was a matter…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. 9The seven heads of the beast symbolize the seven hills where Rome was built (refer to study note on Revelation 16:10–11). the woman: See Revelation 17:3–6.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Compare Re 13:18; Da 12:10, where similarly spiritual discernment is put forward as needed in order to understand the symbolical prophecy. seven heads and seven mountains--The connection between mountains and kings must be deeper than the mere outward fact to which incidental allusion is made, that Rome (the then world city) is on seven hills (whence heathen Rome had a national festival called Septimontium, the feast of the seven-hilled city…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 17:9

• Horn
• Seven

In the dictionaries

• Antichrist
• Carry
• Babylon in the New Testament
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Number
• Palestine
• Revelation of John
• Rome

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