Discovery BoxRevelation 17:5 
Context17:5 On 1 her forehead was written a name, a mystery: 2 “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”
Revelation 17:15
Context17:15 Then 3 the angel 4 said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, 5 nations, and languages.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
4 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 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.
