1 Kings 16:30-33

16:30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord than all who were before him. 16:31 As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal. ²  16:32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal he had built in Samaria. 16:33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole; he ³  did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

1 Kings 18:4

18:4 When Jezebel was killing ⁴  the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in two caves in two groups of fifty. He also brought them food and water.)

1 Kings 19:1-2

Elijah Runs for His Life

19:1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword. 19:2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, ⁵  “May the gods judge me severely ⁶  if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!” ⁷ 

1 Kings 21:8-10

21:8 She wrote out orders, ⁸  signed Ahab’s name to them, ⁹  and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders ¹⁰  to the leaders ¹¹  and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. ¹²  21:9 This is what she wrote: ¹³  “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 21:10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

1 Kings 21:25

21:25 (There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed ¹⁴  to doing evil in the sight of ¹⁵  the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. ¹⁶ 

Nahum 3:4

Taunt against the Harlot City

3:4 “Because ¹⁷  you have acted like a wanton prostitute ¹⁸  –

a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, ¹⁹ 

who ²⁰  enslaves ²¹  nations by her harlotry, ²² 

and entices peoples by her sorcery ²³  –

Revelation 2:20-23

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ²⁴  woman ²⁵  Jezebel, ²⁶  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ²⁷  my servants ²⁸  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²⁹  2:21 I ³⁰  have given her time to repent, but ³¹  she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality. 2:22 Look! I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, ³²  and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, ³³  unless they repent of her deeds. 2:23 Furthermore, I will strike her followers ³⁴  with a deadly disease, ³⁵  and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay ³⁶  each one of you ³⁷  what your deeds deserve. ³⁸ 

Revelation 17:4-5

17:4 Now ³⁹  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ⁴⁰  and adorned with gold, ⁴¹  precious stones, and pearls. She held ⁴²  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ⁴³  17:5 On ⁴⁴  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ⁴⁵  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

Revelation 18:3

18:3 For all the nations ⁴⁶  have fallen ⁴⁷  from

the wine of her immoral passion, ⁴⁸ 

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.” ⁴⁹ 

Revelation 18:23

18:23 Even the light from a lamp

will never shine in you again!

The voices of the bridegroom and his bride

will never be heard in you again.

For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,

because all the nations ⁵⁰  were deceived by your magic spells! ⁵¹ 

[16:30]  ¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[16:31]  ² tn Heb “and he went and served Baal and bowed down to him.”

[16:33]  ³ tn Heb “Ahab”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “cutting off.”

[19:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[19:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “So may the gods do to me, and so may they add.”

[19:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I do not make your life like the life of one of them.”

[21:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “scrolls.”

[21:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the name of Ahab.”

[21:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “scrolls.”

[21:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “elders.”

[21:8]  ¹² tn Heb “to the nobles who were in his city, the ones who lived with Naboth.”

[21:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “she wrote on the scrolls, saying.”

[21:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who sold himself.”

[21:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[21:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “like Ahab…whom his wife Jezebel incited.”

[3:4]  ¹⁷ tn The preposition מִן (min) on מֵרֹב (merov; Heb “from the abundance of harlotries”) is causal: “because of; in consequence of” (HALOT 598 מִן 6; BDB 579-80 s.v. מִן 2.e). See, e.g., Exod 2:23; 15:23; Deut 7:7; 2 Sam 3:11, 37; Job 22:4; Isa 6:4; 43:4; 53:5; Ezek 28:5, 18; Nah 1:5; Zech 2:8; see also IBHS 213 §11.2.11.d; R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 58, §319. The causal sense is supported by the LXX’s ἀπό (apo, “from, because of”). Most English versions adopt the causal sense (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NJPS).

[3:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Because of the many harlotries of the harlot.” The MT connects v. 4 with vv. 5-6; however, the LXX connects v. 4 with vv. 1-3. The Masoretic division is followed by NRSV and NJPS; the LXX division is followed by KJV and NIV; and the NASB division equivocates on the issue. It is best to connect v. 4 with vv. 5-6 (following the MT) because: (1) vv. 1-3 constitute a self-contained woe-oracle; and (2) the theme of the harlot unifies vv. 4-6: the accusation against the harlot (v. 4) and the stereotypical punishment of the harlot (vv. 5-6).

[3:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “fair of form, a mistress of sorceries.”

[3:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “she.” This has been translated as a relative pronoun for stylistic reasons. The shift from 2nd person feminine singular (“you”) to 3rd person feminine singular (“she”) is an example of heterosis of persons, a common literary/poetic device used in Hebrew poetry and prophetic literature.

[3:4]  ²¹ tc The MT reads the Qal participle הַמֹּכֶרֶת (hammokheret) which is derived from מָכַר (makhar, “to sell, to betray”): “the one who sells/betrays [nations].” The MT is supported by the LXX. The Dead Sea Scrolls read הממכרת (4QpNah 2:7): “the one who sells/betrays [nations]” (see DJD 5:38). Dahood repoints the MT as a Hophal participle, הַמֻּכֶּרֶת (hammukkeret) from נָכַר (nakhar, “to know, to recognize”): “the one who is known [by the nations for her harlotries]” (M. Dahood, “Causal Beth and the Root NKR in Nahum 3.4,” Bib 52 [1971]: 395-96). The BHS editors suggest emending the MT, due to metathesis, to הַכֹּמֶרֶת (hakkomeret) from II כמר (“to ensnare”; HALOT 482 s.v. II כמר) which is related to Assyrian kamaru [A] (“to ensnare”): “The one who ensnares [nations].” The related nouns “snare; net” (מִכְמָר, mikhmar) and “net” (מִכְמֶרֶת, mikhmeret) are used as metaphors of the wicked destroying their victims (Ps 141:10; Isa 51:20; Hab 1:15, 16). This approach is adopted by NJPS: “who ensnared nations.” Others suggest emending to the Qal participle הַכֹּמֶרֶת from III כמר (“to destroy, to overthrow”; BDB 485 s.v. III כמר) related to Assyrian kamaru [B] (“to destroy; to annihilate”): “the one who destroys nations.” The MT may be retained due to strong external support (LXX and 4QpNah) and adequate internal support; the conjectural emendations are unnecessary.

[3:4]  ²² tn Heb “the one who sells nations by her harlotries.”

[3:4]  ²³ tn Heb “and clans by her sorceries.”

[2:20]  ²⁴ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

[2:20]  ²⁵ tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 Ï^K pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì⁴⁷ (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

[2:20]  ²⁶ sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

[2:20]  ²⁷ tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

[2:20]  ²⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[2:20]  ²⁹ sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

[2:21]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and contemporary English style.

[2:21]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to bring out the contrast present in this woman’s obstinate refusal to repent.

[2:22]  ³² tn Grk “onto a bed,” in this context an idiom for severe illness (L&N 23.152).

[2:22]  ³³ tn Or “into great distress.” The suffering here is not specified as physical or emotional, and could involve persecution.

[2:23]  ³⁴ tn Grk “her children,” but in this context a reference to this woman’s followers or disciples is more likely meant.

[2:23]  ³⁵ tn Grk “I will kill with death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[2:23]  ³⁶ tn Grk “I will give.” The sense of δίδωμι (didwmi) in this context is more “repay” than “give.”

[2:23]  ³⁷ sn This pronoun and the following one are plural in the Greek text.

[2:23]  ³⁸ tn Grk “each one of you according to your works.”

[17:4]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

[17:4]  ⁴⁰ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[17:4]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[17:4]  ⁴² 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.

[17:4]  ⁴³ tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

[17:5]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  ⁴⁵ 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”).

[18:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:3]  ⁴⁷ tc ‡ Several mss (א A C 1006* 1611 1841 2030 Ï^K), including the best witnesses, read “have fallen” (πεπτώκασιν or πέπτωκαν [peptwkasin or peptwkan]). The singular πέπτωκεν (peptwken), which is better grammatically with the neuter plural subject πάντα τὰ ἔθνη (panta ta eqnh, “all the nations”), is read by 1854 2062 pc; 2042 pc read πεπότικεν (pepotiken). A few mss (1006^c 2329 pc latt sy^h) read “have drunk” (πέπωκαν/πεπώκασιν, pepwkan/pepwkasin); the singular πέπωκεν (pepwken) is read by P 051 1 2053* al. The more difficult reading and that which has the best ms support is “have fallen.” That it is not too difficult is evidenced by the fact that the great majority of Byzantine minuscules, which have a tendency to smooth out problems, left it stand as is. Nonetheless, it is somewhat difficult (TCGNT 683 says that this reading is “scarcely suitable in the context”), and for that reason certain mss seem to have changed it to “have drunk” to agree with the idea of “wine” (οἴνου, oinou). One can understand how this could happen: A scribe coming to the text and seeing the term “wine” expects a verb of drinking. When he sees “have fallen” and knows that in Greek the verbs “have fallen” and “have drunk” are spelled similarly, he concludes that there has been a slip of the pen in the ms he is using, which he then seeks to correct back to the “have drunk” reading. This appears to be more reasonable than to conclude that three early uncials (i.e., א A C) as well as a great number of other witnesses all felt the need to change “have drunk” (πέπωκαν) to “have fallen” (πέπτωκαν), even if “fallen” occurs in the immediate context (“fallen, fallen, [ἔπεσεν ἔπεσεν, epesen epesen] Babylon the great” in the preceding verse). The preferred reading, on both external and internal grounds, is “have fallen,” and thus the Seer intends to focus on the effects of wine, namely, a drunken stupor.

[18:3]  ⁴⁸ tn See the notes on the words “passion” in Rev 14:8 and “wrath” in 16:19.

[18:3]  ⁴⁹ 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.

[18:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:23]  ⁵¹ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”