Revelation 17:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Revelation 17:3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.
2. Revelation 17:3 tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).
3. Revelation 17:3 tn Or “desert.”
4. Revelation 17:3 tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.
5. Revelation 17:4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.
6. Revelation 17:4 tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.
7. Revelation 17:4 tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).
8. Revelation 17:4 tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
9. Revelation 17:4 tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 M^K) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneias tēs gēs) instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneias autēs kai tēs gēs). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in A 1006 2344 al. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The earliest wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.
10. Revelation 17:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
11. Revelation 17:5 tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (mustērion, “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”).