Discovery BoxRevelation 17:6-8 
Context17:6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. 1 I 2 was greatly astounded 3 when I saw her. 17:7 But 4 the angel said to me, “Why are you astounded? I will interpret 5 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 6 and then go to destruction. The 7 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 8 the beast was, and is not, but is to come.
Revelation 17:18
Context17:18 As for 9 the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.”
1 tn Or “of the witnesses to Jesus.” Here the genitive ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou) is taken as an objective genitive; Jesus is the object of their testimony.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
3 tn Grk “I marveled a great marvel” (an idiom for great astonishment).
4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
5 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.
6 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.”
7 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
8 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).
9 tn Grk “And.” Because this remark is somewhat resumptive in nature, “as for” is used in the translation.
