And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters;
with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication.
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, {Or, names full of blasphemy}full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and {Greek: gilded.}decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, {Or, and of the unclean things}even the unclean things of her fornication,
and upon her forehead a name written, {Or, a mystery, Babylon the Great}MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the {Or, witnesses See chapter 2:13}martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, {Some ancient authorities read and he goeth.}and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written {Greek: on.}in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and {Greek: shall be present.}shall come.
Here is the {Or, meaning}mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth:
and {Or, there are}they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while.
And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition.
And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.
These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast.
These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful.
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire.
For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.
And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which {Greek: hath a kingdom.}reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Querverweise zu Offenbarung 17,5 Off 17,5
saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we shall have sealed the {Or, bondservants}servants of our God on their foreheads.
For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: {Or, only until he that now restraineth be taken &c.}only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.
And their {Greek: carcase.}dead bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived {Or, luxuriously}wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning,
{Or, Their respecting of persons doth &c.}The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have done evil unto themselves.
But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good,
traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;
holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away.
And another, a second angel, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, that hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his {Greek: bondservants.}servants at her hand.
whose end is perdition, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.
And the great city was divided into into three parts, and the cities of the {Or, Gentiles}nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a {Or, prison}hold of every unclean spirit, and a {Or, prison}hold of every unclean and hateful bird.
standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
And {Greek: one.}a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.
Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will execute judgment upon the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be confounded; and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for joy over Babylon; for the destroyers shall come unto her from the north, saith Jehovah.