Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Revelation 17:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse clothes her in imperial luxury and gives her a cup full of abominations.
An angel shows the city that sits on many waters
This verse is one part of that explanation in Revelation 17:1-6. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Revelation 17:1-6
Read Revelation 17:4 with 17:1-6. This verse clothes her in imperial luxury and gives her a cup full of abominations. The complete unit's controlling movement is: An angel shows John a richly adorned prostitute riding the beast, named mystery Babylon and drunk with the blood of saints and Jesus' witnesses.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The preceding movement establishes: Revelation 16:17-21 established this prior movement: The final bowl brings a throne declaration, storm, unprecedented earthquake, collapsing cities and geography, Babylon's remembered cup, huge hail, and continued blasphemy. This unit then contributes: An angel shows John a richly adorned prostitute riding the beast, named mystery Babylon and drunk with the blood of saints and Jesus' witnesses. The following movement develops: Revelation 17:7-18 continues the book through this next movement: The angel identifies waters as peoples, heads as mountains and kings, horns as short-lived allied rulers, the beast as doomed, and the woman as the ruling city; the coalition finally destroys her under divine purpose. At Revelation 17:4, this verse clothes her in imperial luxury and gives her a cup full of abominations.
What Remains True
Revelation 17:4 shows that clothes her in imperial luxury and gives her a cup full of abominations; its faithful force remains governed by creator worship, the slain Lamb, truthful witness, patient endurance, justice, and new creation.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Revelation 17:1-6 — Babylon Appears as a Luxury-Clad, Blood-Drunk WomanSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗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 ↗