< Revelation 17 >
1 And there came one of the seven messengers, who were having the seven vials, and he spake with me, saying to me, 'Come, I will shew to thee the judgment of the great whore, who is sitting upon the many waters,
Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ‘Come here,’ he said, ‘and I will show you the sentence passed upon that Great Harlot who is seated at the meeting of many waters,
2 with whom the kings of the earth did commit whoredom; and made drunk from the wine of her whoredom were those inhabiting the earth;'
and with whom all the kings of the earth have had licentious intercourse; while all who live upon the earth have been make drunk by the wine of her licentiousness.’
3 and he carried me away to a wilderness in the Spirit, and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of evil-speaking, having seven heads and ten horns,
And he bore me away in a trance to a lonely place, and I saw a woman seated upon a scarlet Beast, which was covered with blasphemous names; it had seven heads and ten horns.
4 and the woman was arrayed with purple and scarlet-colour, and gilded with gold, and precious stone, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and uncleanness of her whoredom,
The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup, full of idolatrous abominations, and the unclean fruits of her licentiousness;
5 and upon her forehead was a name written: 'Secret, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whores, and the Abominations of the earth.'
while on her forehead there was written this mystic name — ‘BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF ALL IDOLATROUS ABOMINATIONS UPON EARTH.’
6 And I saw the woman drunken from the blood of the saints, and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, and I did wonder — having seen her — with great wonder;
And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of Christ’s People and with the blood of the martyrs for Jesus. When I saw her, I was amazed beyond measure;
7 and the messenger said to me, 'Wherefore didst thou wonder? I — I will tell thee the secret of the woman and of the beast that [is] carrying her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.
but the angel said to me — ‘Why were you amazed? I will tell you the mystic meaning of the vision of this woman, and of the Beast, with the seven heads and ten horns, that carries her.
8 'The beast that thou didst see: it was, and it is not; and it is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go away to destruction, and wonder shall those dwelling upon the earth, whose names have not been written upon the scroll of the life from the foundation of the world, beholding the beast that was, and is not, although it is. (Abyssos )
The Beast that you saw was, but is not, and is about to rise out of the bottomless pit, and is on its way to destruction. Those who are living on earth will be amazed — those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world — when they see that the Beast was, but is not, and yet will come.’ (Abyssos )
9 'Here [is] the mind that is having wisdom; the seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman doth sit,
(Here there is need for the discerning mind.) The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman is seated.
10 and there are seven kings, the five did fall, and the one is, the other did not yet come, and when he may come, it behoveth him to remain a little time;
They are also seven kings; of whom five have fallen and one remains, while one is not yet come. When he comes, he must stay for a little while.
11 and the beast that was, and is not, he also is eighth, and out of the seven he is, and to destruction he doth go away.
So must the Beast that was, but is not. He counts as an eighth king, although he is one of the seven, and is on his way to destruction.
12 'And the ten horns that thou sawest, are ten kings, who a kingdom did not yet receive, but authority as kings the same hour do receive with the beast,
The ten horns that you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received their kingdoms, but for an hour they receive the authority of kings, together with the Beast.
13 these have one mind, and their own power and authority to the beast they shall give over;
These kings are of one mind in surrendering their power and authority to the Beast.
14 these with the Lamb shall make war, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because Lord of lords he is, and King of kings, and those with him are called, and choice, and stedfast.'
They will fight with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; so, too, will those with him who have received the Call and are chosen and faithful.
15 And he saith to me, 'The waters that thou didst see, where the whore doth sit, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues;'
And the angel said to me — ‘The waters that you saw, where the Harlot is seated, are throngs of people and men of all nations and languages.
16 and the ten horns that thou didst see upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her in fire,
The ten horns that you saw, and the Beast — they will hate the Harlot, and cause her to become deserted and strip her bare; they will eat her very flesh and utterly consume her with fire.
17 for God did give into their hearts to do its mind, and to make one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast till the sayings of God may be complete,
For God has put it into their minds to carry out his purpose, in carrying out their common purpose and surrendering their kingdoms to the Beast, until God’s decrees shall be executed.
18 and the woman that thou didst see is the great city that is having reign over the kings of the land.'
As for the woman whom you saw, she is the great city that holds sway over all the kings of the earth.’