Revelation 17:15 BSB

Revelation 17:15

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

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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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Commentary

3 voices

Victorinus of Pettau

Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John (304)

"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.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

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.

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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

19 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Καὶ	Kai	And	G2532 →
λέγει	legei	he says	G3004 →
μοι·	moi	to me;	G3165 →
τὰ	ta	The	G3588 →
ὕδατα	hudata	waters	G5204 →
ἃ	ha	that	G3739 →
εἶδες,	eides	you saw,	G1492 →
οὗ	hou	where	G3757 →
ἡ	hē	the	G3588 →
πόρνη	pornē	prostitute	G4204 →
κάθηται,	kathētai	sits,	G2521 →
λαοὶ	laoi	peoples	G2992 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ὄχλοι	ochloi	multitudes	G3793 →
εἰσὶν	eisin	are	G1510 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἔθνη	ethnē	nations	G1484 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
γλῶσσαι.	glōssai	tongues.	G1100 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

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.
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.
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.