Revelation 17:18
in Revelation 17And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
KJV
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
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This verse in Revelation 17
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThat which continues makes very clear that the woman who was seen is the great city that exercises power over the kings of the earth, and the sufferings of that power that is ruling during those times is prophesied. From these trials the beneficent God …
This site's exposition
is the great city
The angel ends where he began, with the woman, and now names her the great city that rules over the kings of the earth. The chapter leads straight into the lament over that city in chapter 18.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
More clearly, concerning the city about which the passage intends to signify, he brings forward that "the woman" "is the great city which has the dominion" over all.
A commentator
Primasius of HadrumetumCOMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:18 · Written before 560.
proposed
This woman is the very one who was given over to the corruptions of flesh and blood and who had prospered through the power of the earthly kingdom. And since she consists of those very kings over whom she is said to reign according to …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the woman whom you saw is the great city, etc. Likewise, later he is commanded to behold the bride of the Lamb, and he saw the holy city descending from heaven. As he describes it: And the kings of the earth will bring their …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The woman is the great city, which reigneth - Namely, while the beast "is not," and the woman "sitteth upon him."
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:80%@v14-18
And the woman which thou sawest,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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 Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
reigneth--literally, "hath kingship over the kings." The harlot cannot be a mere city literally, but is called so in a spiritual sense (Re 11:8). Also the beast cannot represent a spiritual power, but a world power. In this verse the harlot is presented before us ripe for judgment.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth - It has already been shown that the woman sitting upon the seven-headed beast is a representation of the Latin Church; here we have the greatest assurance that it is so, because the woman is called a city, which is a much plainer emblem of a Church, as the word is used unequivocally in this sense in so many parts of Scripture that we cannot well mistake its meaning.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the woman which thou sawest - Rev 17:3. Is that great city - Represents that great city. Which reigneth over the kings of the earth - Rome would of course be understood by this language in the time of John, and all the circumstances, as we have seen, combined to show that Rome, in some form of its dominion, is intended. Even the name could hardly have designated it more clearly, and all expositors agree in supposing that Rome, either as pagan or as Christian, is referred to. The chapter shows that its power is limited; and that, although for purposes which he saw to be wise, God allows it to have a wide influence over the nations of the earth, yet, in his own appointed time, the very powers that have sustained it will become its foes, and combine for its overthrow. Europe needs but little further provocation, and the fires of liberty, which have been so long pent up, will break forth, and that storm of indignation which has expelled the Jesuits from all the courts of Europe; which has abolished the Inquisition; which has more than once led hostile armies to the very gates of papal Rome, will again be aroused in a manner which cannot be allayed, and that mighty power, which has controlled so large a part of the nations of Europe for more than a thousand years of the world’s history, will come to an end.
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery 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.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γυνὴ | gune | woman | G1135 → | 211 times |
| ἣν | hen | whom | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| εἶδες, | eides | you saw | G1492 → | 374 times |
| ἔστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πόλις | polis | city | G4172 → | 163 times |
| ἡ | he | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μεγάλη | megale | great | G3173 → | 243 times |
| ἡ | he | which | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἔχουσα | echousa | is having | G2192 → | 707 times |
| βασιλείαν | basileian | kingship | G932 → | 162 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | over | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| βασιλέων | basileon | kings | G935 → | 114 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γῆς.¶ | ges | earth. | G1093 → | 248 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
γυνὴwoman
guneG1135 →211 times
ἣνwhom
henG3739 →1405 times
εἶδες,you saw
eidesG1492 →374 times
ἔστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
πόλιςcity
polisG4172 →163 times
ἡ<the>
heG3588 →19766 times
μεγάληgreat
megaleG3173 →243 times
ἡwhich
heG3588 →19766 times
ἔχουσαis having
echousaG2192 →707 times
βασιλείανkingship
basileianG932 →162 times
ἐπὶover
epiG1909 →883 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
βασιλέωνkings
basileonG935 →114 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
γῆς.¶earth.
gesG1093 →248 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 12:4His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child…
it leads to
- Daniel 8:9–12
From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
- Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
- Daniel 8:9–12
Through
Revelation 18:2And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
it leads to
- Revelation 14:8
Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”
- Jeremiah 51:8
Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been shattered. Wail for her; get her balm for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.
- Jeremiah 51:37
Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 50:39–40
So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.
- Jeremiah 51:60–64
Jeremiah had written on a single scroll about all the disaster that would come upon Babylon—all these words that had been written concerning Babylon.
- Revelation 14:8
Through
Revelation 16:19The 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…
it leads to
- Revelation 18:5
For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
- Revelation 18:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Revelation

This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:15-18; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation and Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 17:18.
