Revelation 17:1-2

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ¹  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ²  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ³  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.” ⁴ 

Revelation 17:15-16

17:15 Then ⁵  the angel ⁶  said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, ⁷  nations, and languages. 17:16 The ⁸  ten horns that you saw, and the beast – these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They ⁹  will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. ¹⁰ 

[17:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ² 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.”

[17:1]  ³ 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.”

[17:2]  ⁴ 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.

[17:15]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “and multitudes,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[17:16]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ⁹ tn A new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ¹⁰ tn The final clause could also be turned into an adverbial clause of means: “They will consume her flesh by burning her with fire.”