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 17,6 Off 17,6
{Some ancient authorities omit And it was given…overcome them.}And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and there was given to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.
I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's throne is; and thou holdest fast my name, and didst not deny my faith, even in the days {The Greek text here is somewhat uncertain.}of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he;
And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image of the breast, {Some ancient authorities read that even the image of the beast should speak;and he shall cause &c.}that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not {See marginal note on chapter 3:9}worship the image of the beast should be killed.
And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of them that had been slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy.
and they cried with a great voice, saying, How long, O Master, the holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.
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.
And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, {Some ancient authorities omit of whatsoever craft.}of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee;
and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.
And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of them that slew him.
And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.