15:16 how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, 1
who drinks in evil like water! 2
56:11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full. 3
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain. 4
56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, 5
the people who commit themselves to obedience, 6
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. 7
2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, 8
for 9 all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;
2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan; 10
2:14 for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills, 11
2:22 Stop trusting in human beings,
whose life’s breath is in their nostrils.
For why should they be given special consideration?
17:1 Then 18 one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. 19 “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment 20 of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.” 21 17:3 So 22 he carried me away in the Spirit 23 to a wilderness, 24 and there 25 I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 Now 26 the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, 27 and adorned with gold, 28 precious stones, and pearls. She held 29 in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. 30 17:5 On 31 her forehead was written a name, a mystery: 32 “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.” 17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. 33 I 34 was greatly astounded 35 when I saw her.
18:3 For all the nations 36 have fallen 37 from
the wine of her immoral passion, 38
and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.” 39
1 tn The two descriptions here used are “abominable,” meaning “disgusting” (a Niphal participle with the value of a Latin participle [see GKC 356-57 §116.e]), and “corrupt” (a Niphal participle which occurs only in Pss 14:3 and 53:4), always in a moral sense. On the significance of the first description, see P. Humbert, “Le substantif toáe„ba„ et le verbe táb dans l’Ancien Testament,” ZAW 72 [1960]: 217ff.). On the second word, G. R. Driver suggests from Arabic, “debauched with luxury, corrupt” (“Some Hebrew Words,” JTS 29 [1927/28]: 390-96).
2 sn Man commits evil with the same ease and facility as he drinks in water – freely and in large quantities.
3 sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.
4 tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”
5 tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”
6 tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”
7 tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
8 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”
9 tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).
10 sn The cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan were well-known for their size and prominence. They make apt symbols here for powerful men who think of themselves as prominent and secure.
11 sn The high mountains and hills symbolize the apparent security of proud men, as do the high tower and fortified wall of v. 15.
12 tn Or “they have gone the way of Cain.”
13 tn Grk “for wages.”
14 tn The verb ἐκχέω (ekcew) normally means “pour out.” Here, in the passive, it occasionally has a reflexive idea, as BDAG 312 s.v. 3. suggests (with extra-biblical examples).
15 tn Or “in.”
16 tn Grk “and.” See note on “perish” later in this verse.
17 tn The three verbs in this verse are all aorist indicative (“have gone down,” “have abandoned,” “have perished”). Although the first and second could be considered constative or ingressive, the last is almost surely proleptic (referring to the certainty of their future judgment). Although it may seem odd that a proleptic aorist is so casually connected to other aorists with a different syntactical force, it is not unparalleled (cf. Rom 8:30).
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
19 tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”
20 tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”
21 tn This is the same word translated “sexual immorality” earlier in the verse, but here the qualifier “sexual” has not been repeated for stylistic reasons.
22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.
23 tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).
24 tn Or “desert.”
25 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.
27 tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.
28 tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).
29 tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
30 tc Several
31 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
32 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”).
33 tn Or “of the witnesses to Jesus.” Here the genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is taken as an objective genitive; Jesus is the object of their testimony.
34 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
35 tn Grk “I marveled a great marvel” (an idiom for great astonishment).
36 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
37 tc ‡ Several
38 tn See the notes on the words “passion” in Rev 14:8 and “wrath” in 16:19.
39 tn According to BDAG 949 s.v. στρῆνος and στρηνιάω, these terms can refer either to luxury or sensuality. In the context of Rev 18, however (as L&N 88.254 indicate) the stress is on gratification of the senses by sexual immorality, so that meaning was emphasized in the translation here.