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Revelation 17:15

in Revelation 17

Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute was seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

KJV

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

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This verse in Revelation 17

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
"And the beast which thou sawest is of the seven." Since before those kings Nero reigned. "And he is the eighth." He says only when this beast shall come, reckon it the eighth place, since in that is the completion. He added:- "And shall go into perdition." For that ten kings received royal power when he shall move from the east, he says. He shall be sent from the city of Rome with his armies. And Daniel sets forth the ten horns and the ten diadems.

This site's exposition

where the prostitute was seated

on Revelation 17:15-17

The waters are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, as at 7:9. The ten horns will hate the prostitute and burn her with fire, the penalty of Leviticus 21:9 for a priest's daughter who became a harlot. God has put it into their hearts.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

He says "the waters" on which "the prostitute sits are peoples and nations", on which the city, that is, holds the kingdom.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And he saith unto me,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

By the powerful influence which God hereby showed he had over the minds of great men. Their hearts were in his hand, and he turned them as he pleased; for, (1.) It was of God, and to fulfil his will, that these kings agreed to give their kingdom unto the beast; they were judicially blinded and hardened to do so.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

And he saith unto me - The angel, Rev 17:7. This commences the more “literal” statement of what is meant by these symbols. See the Analysis of the chapter. The waters which thou sawest - See the notes on Rev 17:1. Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues - For an explanation of these terms, see the notes on Rev 7:9. The meaning here is: (a) that these waters represent a multitude of people. This is a common and an obvious symbol - for outspread seas or raging floods would naturally represent such a multitude.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The "tongues" remind us of the original Babel, the confusion of tongues, the beginning of Babylon, and the first commencement of idolatrous apostasy after the flood, as the tower was doubtless dedicated to the deified heavens. Thus, Babylon is the appropriate name of the harlot.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues - “So many words,” Bishop Newton observes, “in the plural number, fitly denote the great extensiveness of her power and jurisdiction. She herself glories in the title of the Catholic Church, and exults in the number of her votaries as a certain proof of the true religion. Cardinal Bellarmin’s first note of the true Church is, the very name of the Catholic Church; and his fourth note is, amplitude, or multitude, and variety of believers; for the truly Catholic Church, says he, ought not only to comprehend all ages, but likewise all places, all nations, all kinds of men.”

The words behind it

19 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.6 works2 Samuel 22:17He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.6 worksJeremiah 51:13You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.5 worksIsaiah 8:7–8the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.5 worksJeremiah 51:55For the LORD will destroy Babylon; He will silence her mighty voice. The waves will roar like great waters; the tumult of their voices will resound.5 worksPsalms 124:4then the floods would have engulfed us, then the torrent would have overwhelmed us,5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Psalms 93:3The floodwaters have risen, O LORD; the rivers have raised their voice; the seas lift up their pounding waves.5 worksRevelation 13:7Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.5 worksRevelation 10:11And they told me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”4 worksIsaiah 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.4 worksPsalms 18:16He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.4 worksPsalms 144:7Reach down from on high; set me free and rescue me from the deep waters, from the grasp of foreigners,4 worksRevelation 11:9For three and a half days all peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will view their bodies and will not permit them to be laid in a tomb.4 worksJeremiah 51:42The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered in turbulent waves.3 worksPsalms 65:7You stilled the roaring of the seas, the pounding of their waves, and the tumult of the nations.3 worksPsalms 69:1Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck.3 worksRevelation 12:15Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent.3 worksEzekiel 31:4The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Revelation 17:1

    Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 19:2

      For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her…

    • Jeremiah 51:13

      You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.

    • Revelation 17:1–17

      Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.

    • Revelation 16:19

      The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His…

    • Revelation 21:9

      Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

  • Through

    Jeremiah 51:13

    You who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come; the thread of your life is cut.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 17:1

      Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.

    • Isaiah 45:3

      I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

    • Jeremiah 51:36

      Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance on your behalf; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 17 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation and Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John.

Read on in Revelation 17 →