Deuteronomy 17:1

17:1 You must not sacrifice to him ¹  a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive ²  to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 23:18

23:18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute ³  or the wage of a male prostitute ⁴  into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Revelation 17:5

17:5 On ⁵  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ⁶  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

¹ tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

² tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.

³ tn Here the Hebrew term זוֹנָה (zonah) refers to a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” in v. 17.

⁴ tn Heb “of a dog.” This is the common Hebrew term for a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) male prostitute. See note on the phrase “sacred male prostitute” in v. 17.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).