Discovery BoxRevelation 17:3 
Context17:3 So 1 he carried me away in the Spirit 2 to a wilderness, 3 and there 4 I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
Revelation 17:7-12
Context17:7 But 5 the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will interpret 6 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 abyss 7 and then go to destruction. The 8 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 that 9 the beast was, and is not, but is to come. 17:9 (This requires 10 a mind that has wisdom.) The seven heads are seven mountains 11 the woman sits on. They are also seven kings: 17:10 five have fallen; one is, 12 and the other has not yet come, but whenever he does come, he must remain for only a brief time. 17:11 The 13 beast that was, and is not, is himself an eighth king and yet is one of the seven, and is going to destruction. 17:12 The 14 ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority 15 as kings with the beast for one hour.
Revelation 17:16
Context17:16 The 16 ten horns that you saw, and the beast – these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They 17 will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. 18
1 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.
2 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).
3 tn Or “desert.”
4 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
6 tn 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.
7 tn 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.”
8 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 tn 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).
10 tn Grk “Here is the mind that has wisdom.”
11 tn It is important to note that the height of “mountains” versus “hills” or other topographical terms is somewhat relative. In terms of Palestinian topography, Mount Tabor (traditionally regarded as the mount of transfiguration) is some 1,800 ft (550 m) above sea level, while the Mount of Olives is only some 100 ft (30 m) higher than Jerusalem.
12 tn That is, one currently reigns.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
15 tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.
16 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
17 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.
18 tn The final clause could also be turned into an adverbial clause of means: “They will consume her flesh by burning her with fire.”
