He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
Parallel Translations
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He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
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And he sayde vnto me: the waters which thou sawest where the whore syttith are people and folke and nacions and tonges.
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And he said vnto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Revelation 17:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Revelation 17:1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,
- Isaiah 8:7-8 now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel.
- Jeremiah 51:13 You who dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your covetousness.
- Jeremiah 51:55 For Yahweh lays Babylon waste, and destroys out of her the great voice! Their waves roar like many waters. The noise of their voice is uttered.
- Psalms 65:7 You still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
- Psalms 93:3-4 The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves. Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty.
- Jeremiah 51:42 The sea has come up on Babylon. She is covered with the multitude of its waves.
- Revelation 10:11 They told me, “You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.”
- Revelation 11:9 From among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations, people will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.
- Psalms 18:4 The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.
- Revelation 13:7-8 It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain This is the other member of the narration as…
This is the other member of the narration as I said verse 7, belonging unto the harlot, showed in the vision, verse 3. In this history of the harlot, these 3 things are distinctly propounded, what is her magnificence in this verse, what is her fall, and by whom it shall happen unto her, in the two verses following: and lastly, who that harlot is, in the last verse. This place which by order of nature should have been the first, is therefore made the last, because it was more fit to be joined with the next Chap.
That is, as unconstant and variable as the waters. Upon this foundation sitteth this harlot as Queen, a vain person upon that which is vain.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which…
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Ver. 15. Are peoples] Fitly called waters for their instability and impetuosity.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain John saw the great whore sitting upon seven mountains,…
John saw the great whore sitting upon seven mountains, Rev 17:9, and upon many waters, Rev 17:1; these signified her dominion and jurisdiction over many people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Here the angel proceeds, and goes on farther in…
Here the angel proceeds, and goes on farther in the explication of the vision. By the waters whereon the whore sat, he declares, are to be understood many and divers nations belonging to the Roman empire. Behold then of what church multitude is a note! Not of the church of Christ, his flock is a little flock; but of the antichristian synagogue which vaunts, that multitudes are on her side, The waters whereon the whore sat are multitudes, peoples, nations, and tongues. Alas, the multitude, or generality of persons, are prone to oppose that which is good, and those that do good.
Next, it is declared what instruments God will make use of as the executioners of this vengeance upon this great whore, the ten horns, that is, the ten kings which did before idolize her, and commit idolatry and spiritual whoredom with her, shall at length revolt from her, hate her, make her desolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
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Lord! what a strange, sudden, and mighty change, doth the power of converting grace make! Behold these ten kings, who sometimes doated upon the painted beauty of this great whore, when once their eyes shall be opened, their hearts will soon be alienated. Babylon’s courts shall be crowded with suitors no longer; they shall make her desolate, by deserting her communion; make her naked, by withdrawing their former supplies afforded to her; they shall eat her flesh, feed themselves with spoils, and take her revenues to themselves; and burn her with fire, that is, shall utterly ruin and destroy her. The destruction of antichrist, once begun, shall hold on constantly, by degrees, till his final destruction.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he saith unto me,.... That is, the angel,…
And he saith unto me,.... That is, the angel, who proposed to give John the interpretation of the vision, he went on with it as follows:
the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth; see Gill on Rev 17:1,
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are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues; denoting the vast multitude of people, of which the several kingdoms, of divers languages, consist, which belong to the jurisdiction of Rome Papal: it is an eastern way of speaking, and is particularly used to express the various kingdoms, and infinite number of people belonging to the Babylonish monarchy, which was an emblem of the antichristian state, Dan 3:4 and these are compared to waters, to many waters; which phrase sometimes is used for the sea, Psa 107:23 because of the vast numbers of them; the whole world wondered after the beast, and the kings and inhabitants of the earth have been subject to the see of Rome; and because of their overbearing force, carrying all before them; see Isa 8:7 Rev 13:3 and because, like waters, they are continually upon the flux, one generation succeeding another; and because of their instability, fickleness, and inconstancy, as in religion, so in their constitution, they will hate the whore they love; and as they frequently change and alter in their form, at last they will utterly cease: so the Jews (w) interpret many waters, in Sol 8:7 of all people, and of the kings of the earth, and of the nations of the world; and they say, that many waters never signify any other than all the nations, and those that are appointed over them (x). So, "he drew me out of many waters", Psa 18:16 is by the Targum on the place explained, he delivered me from many people. And so Psa 46:4 is paraphrased by the Targumist;
"people, "as rivers", and their streams, shall come, and make glad the city of the Lord;''
see the Targum on Isa 8:7 and in Eze 32:2 where it is observed kingdoms are compared to waters (y).
(w) Targum in Cant. viii. 7. Shirhashirim Rabba fol. 26. 1. (x) Zohar in Gen. fol. 51. 3. & Raya Mehimna in ib. & in Numb. fol. 105. 3. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 179. 4. (y) Yaikut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 93. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain People, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues - It…
People, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues - It is not said tribes: for Israel hath nothing to do with Rome in particular.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 15. And he saith unto me, The waters…
Verse 15. 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."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Rev 17:15-18. And he saith unto me, The waters…
Rev 17:15-18. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest where the whore sitteth are peoples, &c. — In the former part of this description, (Rev 17:1,) the whore is represented like ancient Babylon, sitting upon many waters; and these waters are here, Rev 17:15, said expressly to signify peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. So many words in the plural number fitly denote the great extensiveness of her power and jurisdiction; and it is a remarkable peculiarity of Rome, different from all other governments in the world, that her authority is not limited to her own immediate subjects, and confined within the bounds of her own dominions, but extends over all kingdoms and countries professing the same religion. 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. But notwithstanding the general current in her favour, the tide shall turn against her; and the hands which helped to raise her shall also pull her down; the ten horns shall hate the whore, Rev 17:16 — That is, by a common figure of the whole for a part, some of the ten kings; for others (Rev 18:9) shall bewail her and lament for her; and (Rev 19:19) shall fight and perish in the cause of the beast. Some of the kings, who formerly loved her, grown sensible of her exorbitant exactions and oppressions, shall hate her, shall strip, and expose, and plunder her, and utterly consume her with fire. Rome, therefore, will finally be destroyed by some of the princes who are reformed, or shall be reformed, from Popery; and as the kings of France have contributed greatly to her advancement, it is not impossible nor improbable that some time or other they may also be the principal authors of her destruction. And such a revolution may more reasonably be expected, because (Rev 17:17) this infatuation of Popish princes is permitted by Divine Providence only for a certain period, until the words of God shall be fulfilled — And particularly the words of the Prophet Daniel, Dan 7:25-26, They shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and the dividing of time; but then, as it immediately follows, the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume, and to destroy it unto the end. Little doubt can remain after this, what idolatrous church was meant by the whore of Babylon; but for the greater assuredness it is added by the angel, Rev 17:18, the woman which thou sawest is that great city, &c. — He hath explained the mystery of the beast, and of his seven heads and ten horns; and his explanation of the mystery of the woman is, that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth — And what city, at the time of the vision, reigned over the kings of the earth, but Rome? She hath, too, ever since reigned over the kings of the earth, if not with temporal, yet at least with spiritual authority. Rome, therefore, is evidently and undeniably this great city; and that Christian, and not heathen, Papal, and not imperial Rome was meant, hath appeared in several instances, and will appear in several more.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And he saith unto me - The angel, Rev…
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.
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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. See Isa 8:7-8; Isa 17:12-13; Jer 47:2. Compare Iliad, v. 394. The sense here is, that vast numbers of people would be subject to the power here represented by the woman.
(b) They would be composed of different nations, and would be of different languages, It is unnecessary to show that this, in both respects, is applicable to the papacy. Nations have been, and are subject to its control, and nations speaking a large part of the languages of the world. Perhaps under no one government - not even the Babylonian, the Macedonian, or the ancient Roman - was there so great a diversity of people, speaking so many different languages, and having so different an origin.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth,…
The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, signify the different nations, in all which is a multitude of wicked, especially among the great ones of this world. (Witham) --- And the ten horns....shall hate the harlot. That is, ancient Rome; they will make her desolate, by laying waste all her provinces; they will make her....naked, by stripping her of her shining ornaments, her gaudy palaces, Egyptian obelisks, magnificent temples, theatres, triumphal arches, &c. --- They will eat her flesh, by plundering her of her wealth and riches, with which she has fed herself by plundering the rest of the world; and lastly, they will burn her with fire; all which we know has been accomplished, even to a tittle. (Pastorini) --- Alaric, the Goth, in 410, took the city, pillaged it, and delivered it over to fire and the plunder of his soldiers for three days. The only privileged places that escaped were the churches. (Calmet) --- Genseric plundered it for fourteen days, in 455, and set fire to it. Odoacer took it, and deposed the emperor, in 476; and Totila, in 546, burnt it, and reduced it to a solitude. Procopius says he left not one human creature in the city. (Pastorini) --- These shall hate the harlot. There is no true love or friendship among them: the wicked hate, envy, make war against the wicked, though they make alliances sometimes one with another. --- For God hath put it into their hearts, permits them, and makes use of them as instruments of his justice, against one another: and they give their kingdom to the beast: the wicked reign under the prince of this world, the devil, as long as God pleases, and till his words and judgments are fulfilled. All the contents of the following chapters agree with this exposition. When the Angels cries, (chap. xviii.) Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, the false happiness of the wicked is come to its last period; though St. John speaks sometimes by anticipation, especially when the rejoicings of the saints are represented, and the miseries and consternation of the wicked, to encourage the servants of God to patience and perseverance under their trials and persecutions in this mortal life. Babylon will in a short time be the habitation of devils: and therefore the good are admonished by these words, go out of her, my people, avoid and detest her wicked ways. Almighty God hath remembered her iniquities, the provocations of the wicked, nor can they escape the hand of his justice. They lived as if they were never to be called to an account. Babylon, blinded with sensual delights, pride, and vanity, said in her heart, I sit as a queen above others, and sorrow I shall not see; like the wicked in the psalmist, who is Lord over us? (Psalm xi.) But all her plagues (chap. xviii. 8.) come in one day, at the day of death, or the day of judgment. Then are represented the weeping and mourning of all the accomplices of the wicked, like the disappointment of merchants by the burning and destruction of a great city, where they found so great profit in disposing and selling their merchandise. After this, in the 19th chapter, the blessed in heaven sing Alleluia, &c. the God Almighty hath reigned, or is about to reign. At the latter end of the 19th chapter, ver. 17, it is said, I saw an Angel standing in the sun; saying to all the birds, &c. Here are represented God’s judgments on the wicked, as it were after a great battle, in which kings and many noblemen are slain, so that the birds are invited to drink of their blood. --- The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet. We may take this as spoken by anticipation of antichrist, and his great impostor, or false prophet. For still after this, (chap. xx. 7,) is foretold, according to St. Augustine, the last persecution by the devil, and by antichrist, with Gog and Magog; for it is then that fire came down from heaven, and was to devour them; and there it is expressed that the devil, who seduced them, and all the wicked, was cast into the lake of fire, into hell, where also the beast, antichrist, and the false prophet shall be tormented for ever and ever. Now to give a short account of the two other expositions. The first of them, followed by a great many, (as may be seen in Alcazar and Cornelius a Lapide) holds that all these visions will come to pass in the short reign of antichrist, a little while before the end of the world. These interpreters are divided about the signification of Babylon: some understand Babylon the metropolis of Chaldea, where they think that antichrist will begin to reign; others understand Constantinople, the seat of the Turkish empire, which is also built upon seven hills: but many understand Rome, not Christian Rome, but Rome that was a heathen city in the first ages [centuries], and which they think will be heathen Rome again in antichrist’s time. See a great number of the Fathers and interpreters for this opinion cited by Cornelius a Lapide. By the beast that carries her with her idolatry and vices, they understand the devil; and by the seven heads and ten horns, kings, who shall be in the time of antichrist, and submit themselves to him. All these kings and persecutors will receive their power one hour after, or with the beast, by which they rather understand antichrist, whose reign shall be short, as shall be that of the devil, who shall be let loose, and have greater power for a little while. By the eighth, who is of the seven, they understand the devil, because all the seven will be as it were his instruments. The same kings who committed fornication with the harlot, are also said to hate her, and burn her, says Gagneius, by being the cause of her damnation and destruction: for none are greater enemies than sinners’ accomplices. As to the other exposition, (for which see Alcazar, the bishop of Meaux, &c.) they look upon all these visions till the last persecution under antichrist, (chap. xx. 7. 10.) to be already fulfilled by the destruction of the heathen Roman empire, as they are also expounded by Dr. Hammond. Babylon is the ancient heathen Rome, mother of fornication, i.e. of idolatry and of all kind of vices, sitting upon a scarlet beast, supported by the pagan emperors in all their grandeur, pomp, and vanity. When it is said of her, that she was, and is not, this is not to be taken with regard to the visions one after another represented to St. John, nor with a regard to the time when he wrote under Domitian. She is said to come again out of the bottomless pit, when the same heathen worship was again renewed by Julian the apostate, who had a design and endeavoured to destroy the Christian religion. The seven heads are ingeniously applied to Dioclesian, Maximian Herculeus, Constantius Chlorus, Maximus, and Maxentius, which in a vision of St. John, are said to be the five that are fallen. One, to wit, Maximinus, is the sixth, represented as then in being; and another, the seventh, it is said is not yet come; to with, Licinius, whose persecution but a short time. The eighth, who is called also one of the seven, they take to be Maximian Heruleus, who had laid down the empire with Dioclesian, but took it up again, and so was the eighth, but of the seven mentioned before. The ten horns represented as not yet having a kingdom, but who are to receive power as kings, one hour after the beast, or at the fall of the empire, are those kings and princes by whom the Roman empire was destroyed; as the Goths, Vandals, Lombards, Burgundians, Franks, Huns, Alans, Suevi, also Persians and Saracens, who invaded and dismembered different parts of the empire: but no great stress need be laid on the exact number ten; which, as St. Augustine says, may be taken for a great many. They all come with the same design, (ver. 13.) to enrich and settle themselves in the dominions of the empire; yet afterwards they gave their power to the beast, by entering into alliances with the emperors, as Alaric, the Goth, and others did. They at first fought with the Lamb, being then heathens, and afterwards many of them Arians, till the Lamb overcame them, and brought them to the true Christian faith. They are said to have hated the harlot, making her destitute by pillaging Rome and divers other cities: they devoured her flesh, her treasures, God putting it into their hearts, making use of them as instruments to punish these wicked persecuting idolaters; yet they afterwards sometimes agreed to give her their strength by agreements and alliances, till the time that God decreed the empire should be in a manner destroyed. These interpreters conclude that by Babylon must necessarily be understood Rome, because it is said that seven heads, upon which the woman sitteth, are seven mountains; and it is well known that Rome is built upon seven hills; and secondly, because the woman is said to be the city, which hath dominion over the kings of the earth. But first, those seven mountains are also called seven kings; secondly, Constantinople is also built upon seven hills; thirdly, seven may be taken for many. And I cannot but take notice, that some expressions in this and in the next chapter, seem to agree better with that exposition, which takes Babylon for the multitude of all the wicked: as when we read, (chap. xviii. 3.) that all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; (ver. 23.) that all nations were deceived by her sorceries; (ver. 24.) that in her was formed the blood of the prophets, and of the saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. For though the Roman empire was of so large an extent, yet a greater part of the world was never subject to the Romans: many apostles and martyrs were not put to death at Rome, nor by the Romans, but by the Persians, and in India, &c. so these general expressions are more easily expounded, if by the great city of Babylon we understand the multitude of the wicked in all parts of the world: not but that these visions may also regard heathen Rome as the chief place where such persecutions were acted, and where all kind of vices were practices. --- N. B. Some have taken notice, that the English Protestants print the 5th verse of this chapter in capital letters: Mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. I will suppose that these words are only printed in this manner, because they contain an inscription; as when it is said, that he who was called the word of God, had written upon him, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, which words are also printed in great letters: but if our adversaries do this, to make the Church of Rome to be looked upon as the whore of Babylon, and the pope as antichrist, nothing can be more unfair, nothing more ridiculous, as I may shew on the following chapters. (Witham)
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George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Rev 17:1; Isa 8:7.) An impious parody of Jehovah…
(Rev 17:1; Isa 8:7.) An impious parody of Jehovah who "sitteth upon the flood" [ALFORD]. Also, contrast the "many waters" Rev 19:6, "Alleluia."
peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues--The "peoples," &c., here mark the universality of the spiritual fornication of the Church. 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. The Pope, as the chief representative of the harlot, claims a double supremacy over all peoples, typified by the "two swords" according to the interpretation of Boniface VIII in the Bull, "Unam Sanctam," and represented by the two keys: spiritual as the universal bishop, whence he is crowned with the miter; and temporal, whence he is also crowned with the tiara in token of his imperial supremacy. Contrast with the Pope's diadems the "many diadems" of Him who alone has claim to, and shall exercise when He shall come, the twofold dominion (Rev 19:12).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. Exposition of the harlot, and her total destruction,…
3. Exposition of the harlot, and her total destruction, Rev_17:15-18.
15. Peoples… multitudes… nations… tongues—Universal terms with the angel symbolic of the world-wide. Romanism claims to be catholic, that is, universal. She claims it as her proof of being a true Church. Cardinal Bellarmine asserts that the “first note of a true Church is the very same of the Catholic Church.” His fourth note, in words remarkably similar to the terms of this verse, is, “Amplitude, or multitude of believers. For a Church truly catholic ought not only to embrace all times, but all places, all nations, and races of all men.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15. The waters &c.] Some compare Isa_8:7 for the…
15. The waters &c.] Some compare Isa_8:7 for the use of waters as an emblem of multitudes.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15) And he said unto me . . .—Better,…
(15) And he said unto me . . .—Better, And he (i.e., the angel mentioned in Rev_17:1) saith, &c. The waters on which the harlot sits are explained as “multitudes.” We have thus a key to the imagery employed here and elsewhere (Rev_13:1). The wild beast and the harlot both draw much of their power from the people. The easily-moved passions or the fickle crowd, its generous, unreasoning impulses, are used by subtle and seductive enemies. “Men never so much need to be theocratic as when they are most democratic,” said De Tocqueville. They need to recognise God as their King, then, most when their new discovered strength is likely to be made the tool of unscrupulous ambition.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And he saith unto me. As in ver. 7,…
And he saith unto me. As in ver. 7, these words form the preface to a particular description. Having explained the mystery of the beast, to whom the woman looks for support, the angel now proceeds to unfold the mystery of the harlot herself. The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth; viz. those mentioned in ver. 1. In ver. 7 we are told that the beast carries the woman. Both statements are correct. The beast is the world power, which is found among the "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues." Are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, The fourfold description of the human race, (cf. Rev_5:9, etc.) which, as a whole, serves the beast, (cf. Rev_13:3, Rev_13:8, Rev_13:12, Rev_13:16) and out of which are selected the redeemed. (Rev_5:9 Rev_9:9)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 15. The waters which thou sawest. These are symbolical…
15. The waters which thou sawest. These are symbolical of the many nations and races which support the scarlet woman.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The conclusion of the explanation:
The conclusion of the explanation:
v. 15. 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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v. 16. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
v. 17. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
v. 18. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
The angel here takes up his interpretation anew, in order to give the explanation of certain features of the picture shown above: And he says to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot is sitting, peoples and multitudes they are, and nations and tongues. The angel fittingly describes the Church of the Pope as the great harlot sitting on many waters, that is, as one occupying a proud throne over many peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues, ruling them by her power and seducing them into the fornication of her idolatry.
And now a peculiar fact is noted: And the ten horns which thou sawest and the beast, these will hate the harlot, and they will lay her waste and strip her naked; and they will eat her flesh, and they will burn her with fire; for God has given into their hearts to carry out His intention, and to execute their single purpose, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. It is a strange fact, but one borne out sufficiently well by many pages of history, that the very rulers and prince; who received power and authority with the beast, at certain times turned against the rule of Anti-Christ, especially as to his meddling in temporal affairs. Even before the Reformation, for more than a century, complaints were lodged against the usurpation of the Roman hierarchy, and a number of councils attempted to adjust matters. And since the Reformation many of the rulers of the world, in spite of their outward adherence to the Church of Rome, have plundered her institutions, stripped her of her worldly power and goods, and left her comparatively destitute and helpless. Even the Pope’s own temporal kingdom, a strip of land in Italy, has been taken from him, and he now sits in his immense palace, the Vatican, calling himself a prisoner. That was one phase of God’s judgment upon the antichristian beast; these rulers carried out the intention and purpose which He put into their hearts.
But the power of Anti-Christ is by no means exhausted: And the woman which thou sawest is the great city which has regal authority over the kingdoms of the earth. So the final Judgment has not yet come upon the Church of Rome, upon the kingdom of Anti-Christ. Rome still is a very powerful empire, which must be reckoned with; she still has kingly authority over many rulers of the world; she is still able to bedeck herself with the ornaments of her idolatrous and adulterous traffic, and many thousands there are that are impressed by this pomp and yield to her entreaties. May God mercifully hold His sheltering hand over all true Christians!
Summary
The Church of Anti-Christ is described in full in the picture of a great harlot, combining temporal and spiritual power in an authority extending even over the rulers of the world, in. spite of the fact that these vassals have repeatedly stripped her of power and wealth.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 The waters you saw, where the prostitute is seated,…
The waters you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages
Here "are" stands for "represent." (See: Metaphor)
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The waters
If you need to, you can use a more specific word for the kind of water. See how you translated "many waters" in Revelation 17:1. AT: "The rivers" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
multitudes
large groups of people
languages
This refers to people who speak the languages. See how you translated this in Revelation 10:11. (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
angel
water
prostitute
people group
nation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 17:15-16 While the prostitute rules over the masses, it…
17:15-16 While the prostitute rules over the masses, it does not bring her victory. Instead, the beast hates and kills the great prostitute. Satan strikes even those he uses for his evil purposes.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.