Revelation 17:6-8

17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus.¹ I² was greatly astounded³ when I saw her. 17:7 But⁴ the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will interpret⁵ for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss⁶ and then go to destruction. The⁷ inhabitants of the earth – all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world – will be astounded when they see that⁸ the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

¹tn Or “of the witnesses to Jesus.” Here the genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is taken as an objective genitive; Jesus is the object of their testimony.

²tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³tn Grk “I marveled a great marvel” (an idiom for great astonishment).

⁴tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁵tn Grk “I will tell you,” but since what follows is the angel’s interpretation of the vision, “interpret for you” is the preferred translation here.

⁶tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

⁷tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁸tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).