Where the harlot sitteth (ου η πορνος καθητα). Relative adverb ου (where) referring to the waters (υδατα) of verse Revelation 17:1 on which the harlot sits. Present middle indicative of καθημα.

Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues (λαο κα οχλο εισιν κα εθνη κα γλωσσα). The O.T. uses "waters" as symbol for "peoples" (Isaiah 8:7; Jeremiah 47:2; Psalm 29:10, etc.). "Rome's greatest danger lay in the multitudes which were under her sway" (Swete).