Revelation 17:1-6, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Revelation 17:1-6
Babylon Appears as a Luxury-Clad, Blood-Drunk Woman
An angel shows the city that sits on many waters
One of the seven vial angels says, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. John is carried in the spirit into the wilderness and sees a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman and the beast are a pair: imperial city riding imperial power. Kings and markets are drunk on her, which in this book means political-economic intimacy with a violent luxury system, not a required modern nation-label.
The woman is arrayed in purple and scarlet, gold, precious stones, and pearls, with a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. On her forehead a name is written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. John sees her drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, and he wonders with great admiration. The first shock is luxury funded by witness-blood.
The prostitute is a city personification, not a weapon against women
Prophets already called faithless cities by this sexualized metaphor. Revelation uses it against an imperial capital, primarily Rome in the book's own horizon. The image critiques exploitation and violence. It does not authorize misogyny, sexual shaming, or calling women, girls, or living cities whores.
John's wonder is part of the danger. Spectacle can dazzle even a seer. The right next move is interpretation, not imitation and not retaliation in kind.
How this should shape us
Look past glamour to the blood in the cup. Refuse to spend that look on shaming women, and refuse to slap Babylon on a church, ethnicity, or party just because you already oppose them.
Teach it back
Explain Revelation 17:1-6 in your own words. Include its place in Revelation's visionary movement, one major interpretive uncertainty, one Old Testament or first-century control, and one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The sexualized female personification draws on prophetic city rhetoric and primarily evokes imperial Rome. It critiques luxury, exploitation, and violence but risks misogyny and cannot be applied to real women.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete coverage.
Revelation 17:1-6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Revelation.txt, 17:1-6
Supports: Greek form, morphology, and lexical-range cross-check; lexical data does not decide context by itself.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Acts–Revelation data, rows for 17:1-6
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual variants, imagery, cross-references, and stated alternatives.
NET Bible Revelation PDF, printed pp. 2408–2447, 17:1-6 and attached translator/textual notes
Supports: Revelation's textual transmission, KJV/TR history, local uncertainty, and limits of reconstructing an earliest text.
Hernández, 'The Greek Text of Revelation,' author preprint, sections on textual plurality, Textus Receptus, Erasmus, manuscript recovery, Hoskier, Schmid, and Text und Textwert; local implications for 17:1-6
Supports: Methodological control for verbal, thematic, structural, authorial, reader, and later intertextual claims.
Moyise, 'Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation?' pp. 391–401; allusion-method discussion applied to 17:1-6
Supports: Authorship, date, audience, genre, cycles, Roman setting, Lamb-shaped conquest, and limits on persecution reconstructions.
Oxford Handbook authorized preview: Koester, 'Revelation in Its Historical and Theological Context,' printed pp. 1–20; Reddish, 'The Genre of the Book of Revelation,' printed pp. 21–32; applied to 17:1-6
Supports: Reader-first whole-book context, Roman Asia, symbolism, worship, judgment, endurance, and responsible reception.
Enter the Bible Revelation course, sections Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to 17:1-6
Supports: Full confessional commentary, Greek observations, Old Testament links, four major interpretive approaches, millennial options, and application.
Tabb, 'Revelation,' commentary heading covering Revelation 17:1-6 plus Introduction and Theology
Supports: Social-historical control for Roman Asia, civic participation, imperial cults, local conflicts, and anti-imperial rhetoric.
Harland, 'Imperial Cults, Persecution, and the Apocalypse of John,' printed pp. 211–231, especially the seven assemblies, imperial honors, persecution cautions, and Babylon discussion applied to 17:1-6
Supports: Gendered rhetoric, Roman power, faithful witness, worship, nonviolent application, and new creation.
Kirby, 'The Book of Revelation: Following the Lamb,' printed pp. 466–484, especially Gender and Violence, imperial setting, literary features, and Following the Lamb; applied to 17:1-6
Supports: Violent imagery, worship, witness, repentance, Lamb-shaped conquest, creation, and the unresolved divine-violence problem.
Decock, 'Images of War and Creation, Violence and Non-Violence in the Revelation of John,' complete article, sections 1–5; applied to 17:1-6
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete coverage.
Exact location: Revelation 17:1-6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Revelation.txt, 17:1-6
Open the Revelation Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek form, morphology, and lexical-range cross-check; lexical data does not decide context by itself.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Acts–Revelation data, rows for 17:1-6
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Revelation with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual variants, imagery, cross-references, and stated alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Revelation PDF, printed pp. 2408–2447, 17:1-6 and attached translator/textual notes
Open the official NET Revelation PDF ↗peer reviewed handbook chapter author preprint
The Greek Text of Revelation
Juan Hernández Jr.
The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation, 2020
Supports: Revelation's textual transmission, KJV/TR history, local uncertainty, and limits of reconstructing an earliest text.
Exact location: Hernández, 'The Greek Text of Revelation,' author preprint, sections on textual plurality, Textus Receptus, Erasmus, manuscript recovery, Hoskier, Schmid, and Text und Textwert; local implications for 17:1-6
Open Hernández's author-uploaded preprint ↗peer reviewed open access article
Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation?
Steve Moyise
Scriptura 84, 2003; online record 2013
Supports: Methodological control for verbal, thematic, structural, authorial, reader, and later intertextual claims.
Exact location: Moyise, 'Intertextuality and the Use of Scripture in the Book of Revelation?' pp. 391–401; allusion-method discussion applied to 17:1-6
Open Moyise's Scripture-use article ↗modern scholarly handbook preview
The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation — publisher preview
Craig R. Koester, editor; chapters by Craig R. Koester and Mitchell G. Reddish
Oxford University Press, 2020
Supports: Authorship, date, audience, genre, cycles, Roman setting, Lamb-shaped conquest, and limits on persecution reconstructions.
Exact location: Oxford Handbook authorized preview: Koester, 'Revelation in Its Historical and Theological Context,' printed pp. 1–20; Reddish, 'The Genre of the Book of Revelation,' printed pp. 21–32; applied to 17:1-6
Open the Oxford Handbook preview ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Revelation course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Craig R. Koester and Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, current online course inspected 2026
Supports: Reader-first whole-book context, Roman Asia, symbolism, worship, judgment, endurance, and responsible reception.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Revelation course, sections Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and Bible in the World; applied to 17:1-6
Open the Enter the Bible Revelation course ↗modern open commentary
Revelation
Brian J. Tabb
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition
Supports: Full confessional commentary, Greek observations, Old Testament links, four major interpretive approaches, millennial options, and application.
Exact location: Tabb, 'Revelation,' commentary heading covering Revelation 17:1-6 plus Introduction and Theology
Open Tabb's Revelation commentary ↗modern social historical monograph chapter
Imperial Cults, Persecution, and the Apocalypse of John
Philip A. Harland
Second edition of Associations, Synagogues, and Congregations, 2013
Supports: Social-historical control for Roman Asia, civic participation, imperial cults, local conflicts, and anti-imperial rhetoric.
Exact location: Harland, 'Imperial Cults, Persecution, and the Apocalypse of John,' printed pp. 211–231, especially the seven assemblies, imperial honors, persecution cautions, and Babylon discussion applied to 17:1-6
Open Harland's imperial-cults chapter ↗modern open scholarly book chapter
The Book of Revelation: Following the Lamb
D. Jill Kirby
Religious Studies Center, in New Testament History, Culture, and Society, 2019
Supports: Gendered rhetoric, Roman power, faithful witness, worship, nonviolent application, and new creation.
Exact location: Kirby, 'The Book of Revelation: Following the Lamb,' printed pp. 466–484, especially Gender and Violence, imperial setting, literary features, and Following the Lamb; applied to 17:1-6
Open Kirby's Revelation chapter ↗peer reviewed open access article
Images of War and Creation, Violence and Non-Violence in the Revelation of John
Paul Decock
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 64.4, 2008
Supports: Violent imagery, worship, witness, repentance, Lamb-shaped conquest, creation, and the unresolved divine-violence problem.
Exact location: Decock, 'Images of War and Creation, Violence and Non-Violence in the Revelation of John,' complete article, sections 1–5; applied to 17:1-6
Open Decock's violence article ↗