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ParallelVerse GENEXOLEVNUMDEUJOBJOSJDGRUTH1 SAM2 SAMPSAAMOSHOS1 KI2 KI1 CHR2 CHRPROVECCSNGJOELMICISAZEPHABJERLAMYNA (JNA)NAHOBADANEZEEZRAESTNEHHAGZECMALLAOGESLESESGDNG2 PSTOBJDTWISSIRBARLJEPAZSUSBELMAN1 MAC2 MAC3 MAC4 MACYHN (JHN)MARKMATLUKEACTsYAC (JAM)GAL1 TH2 TH1 COR2 CORROMCOLPHMEPHPHP1 TIMTIT1 PET2 PET2 TIMHEBYUD (JUD)1 YHN (1 JHN)2 YHN (2 JHN)3 YHN (3 JHN)REV

Rev IntroC1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8C9C10C11C12C13C14C15C16C17C18C19C20C21C22

Rev 17 V1V2V3V4V6V7V8V9V10V11V12V13V14V15V16V17V18

Parallel REV 17:5

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

BI Rev 17:5 ©

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal(All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV)and a name was written on her forehead. The name was a mystery: ‘Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and the Abominations of the Earth.’OET logo mark

OET-LVand on the forehead of_her was a_name having_been_written:
Mystery Babulōn/(Bāⱱel?
) the great, the mother of_the prostitutes, and of_the abominations of_the earth.
OET logo mark

SR-GNTκαὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον, “Μυστήριον Βαβυλὼν Μεγάλη, μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν, καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς.”
   (kai epi to metōpon autaʸs onoma gegrammenon, “Mustaʸrion Babulōn haʸ Megalaʸ, haʸ maʸtaʸr tōn pornōn, kai tōn bdelugmatōn taʸs gaʸs.”)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULTand on her forehead had been written a name, a mystery: Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth.

USTAnd there was a name in writing on her forehead. The name had a secret meaning. That name was: The Great Babylon, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Immoral Things in the World.

BSBAnd on her forehead a mysterious name was written:
¶ BABYLON THE GREAT,
¶ THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
¶ AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

MSB (Same as BSB above)

BLBAnd upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery: Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes, and of the abominations of the earth.


AICNTAnd [[on the earth and]][fn] on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.”


17:5, on the earth and: Included in ℵ(01).

OEBwhile on her forehead was inscribed a name that had a hidden meaning: “Babylon the Great, mother of all prostitutes, source of all obscenities on earth.”

WEBBEAnd on her forehead a name was written, “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NETOn her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

LSVand on her forehead was a name written: “SECRET, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE WHORES, AND THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

FBVA name of mystery[fn] was written on her forehead: Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the World's Obscene Things.


17:5 “Mystery”: having a hidden meaning; now revealed.

TCNTA mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth.”

T4TThis name, that has a hidden/secret meaning, was written on her forehead:This woman is Babylon, the very evil city! She acts like the mother of the prostitutes on the earth. She teaches them to act immorally and to worship idols.”

LEBAnd on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

BBEAnd on her brow was a name, SECRET, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE EVIL WOMEN AND OF THE UNCLEAN THINGS OF THE EARTH.

Moffand on her forehead a name was written by way of symbol, "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of all abominations on earth."

WymthAnd on her forehead was a name written: "I am a symbol of great Babylon, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth."

ASVand upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

DRAAnd on her forehead a name was written: A mystery; Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and the abominations of the earth.

YLTand upon her forehead was a name written: 'Secret, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Whores, and the Abominations of the earth.'

Drbyand upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, great Babylon, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth.

RVand upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

SLTAnd upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

WbstrAnd upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

KJB-1769And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

KJB-1611And vpon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of [fn]Harlots, And Abominations Of The Earth.
   (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)


17:5 Or, fornications.

BshpsAnd in her forehead was a name written, a misterie, great Babylon, the mother of whoredome & abhominations of the earth.
   (And in her forehead was a name written, a mystery, great Babylon, the mother of whoredom/prostitution and abomination/disgusting_things/disgusting_things of the earth.)

GnvaAnd in her forehead was a name written, A mysterie, that great Babylon, that mother of whoredomes, and abominations of the earth.
   (And in her forehead was a name written, A mystery, that great Babylon, that mother of whoredoms/prostitutions, and abomination/disgusting_things/disgusting_things of the earth. )

CvdlAnd in her forhed was a name wrytte, a mistery; greate Babilon the mother of whordome, and abominacios of the earth.
   (And in her forhed was a name written, a mystery; great Babylon the mother of whoredom/prostitution, and abominacios of the earth.)

TNTAnd in her forhed was a name wrytten a mistery gret Babylon the mother of whordome and abominacions of the erth.
   (And in her forhed was a name written a mystery great Babylon the mother of whoredom/prostitution and abominacions of the earth. )

WyclAnd a name writun in the forheed of hir, Mysterie, Babiloyn the greet, modir of fornycaciouns, and of abhomynaciouns of erthe.
   (And a name written in the forehead of her, Mysterie, Babiloyn the great, mother of fornications, and of abomination/disgusting_things/disgusting_things of earth.)

Luthund an ihrer Stirn geschrieben den Namen, das Geheimnis: Die große Babylon, die Mutter der Hurerei und aller Greuel auf Erden.
   (and at/to of_their/her forehead written the name(s), the secret/mystery: The large Babylon, the mother the/of_the fornication and all abomination/disgusting_thing on/in/to earth/land/ground.)

ClVgEt in fronte ejus nomen scriptum: Mysterium: Babylon magna, mater fornicationum, et abominationum terræ.[fn]
   (And in/into/on forehead his name written: Mysterium: Babylon big, mother fornication, and abomiof_nations of_the_earth/land. )


17.5 Et in fronte. Quamvis sit ita habilis ad decipiendum, tamen, o fideles, ne desperetis, quia habet in fronte, id est in manifesto, signum quod rudibus est mysterium istud quo dat exemplum faciendi peccata, pro quibus terreni a salute fidelium repellentur.


17.5 And in/into/on fronte. Although be so/thus habilis to decipiendum, nevertheless, o faithful, not despairis, because has in/into/on fronte, that it_is in/into/on manifesto, sign/signal that rudibus it_is mystery this where gives exemplum facendi sins, for to_whom earthly from salute faithful repellentur.

UGNTκαὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον, Μυστήριον Βαβυλὼν ἡ Μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν, καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς.
   (kai epi to metōpon autaʸs onoma gegrammenon, Mustaʸrion Babulōn haʸ Megalaʸ, haʸ maʸtaʸr tōn pornōn, kai tōn bdelugmatōn taʸs gaʸs.)

SBL-GNTκαὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον, μυστήριον, Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς.
   (kai epi to metōpon autaʸs onoma gegrammenon, mustaʸrion, Babulōn haʸ megalaʸ, haʸ maʸtaʸr tōn pornōn kai tōn bdelugmatōn taʸs gaʸs.)

RP-GNTκαὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον, Μυστήριον, Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς.
   (kai epi to metōpon autaʸs onoma gegrammenon, Mustaʸrion, Babulōn haʸ megalaʸ, haʸ maʸtaʸr tōn pornōn kai tōn bdelugmatōn taʸs gaʸs.)

TC-GNTκαὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον· Μυστήριον, Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς.
   (kai epi to metōpon autaʸs onoma gegrammenon; Mustaʸrion, Babulōn haʸ megalaʸ, haʸ maʸtaʸr tōn pornōn kai tōn bdelugmatōn taʸs gaʸs. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs (from our SR-GNT base).


TSNTyndale Study Notes:

17:5 Using code language, John was probably referring to Rome (see 17:9) as Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes. Babylon was a symbol of the idolatries and demonic obscenities of the world. As Mother, she had produced offspring who copied her character. Rome, like Babylon, prostituted herself to false gods and led other nations into adultery and idolatry.


SOTNSIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 17:1–18: John saw the woman Babylon and the beast

In this section, John saw a woman sitting on a red beast. The woman had the symbolic name “Babylon.” An angel referred to her as a prostitute. The red beast had seven heads and ten horns. The beast worked together with her, but later he destroyed her.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

The great/famous prostitute with the symbolic name Babylon was destroyed

The red beast turned against the woman Babylon and destroyed her

17:5a–c

And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH: The BSB and some English versions write this title with all capital letters. Other English versions capitalize the first letter of each word. Write this title as a name or title in your language.

17:5a

And on her forehead a mysterious name was written:

And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: There are two ways to interpret how the Greek word that the BSB translates as mysterious is used:

  1. It describes the name or title on her forehead. The name was mysterious or secret. For example:

    on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, (NASB) (BSB, RSV, GNT, NJB, NIV11, NASB, NABRE, NLT, CEV, NET, REB, NCV, ESV)

  2. It is itself part of the name or title. For example:

    upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY (KJV) (NIV, GW, KJV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).Aune (page 936) says, “Since the angel offers to explain ‘the mystery of the woman’ in v7, it is probable that the term…is not a part of what is written on the woman’s forehead.” Beale (page 858) also supports interpretation (1). Other ways to translate this interpretation are:

On her forehead a mysterious name was written: (CEV)

On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: (NET)

On her forehead was written a name that has a secret meaning: (GNT)

on her forehead a mysterious name was written: The Greek grammar indicates that the writing was already there when John saw the woman. The clause is passive. Some languages must use an active or intransitive clause. For example:

someone had written a name on her forehead

On her forehead were these words:

A name/title was on her forehead:

If you translate following the last two examples, your translation should imply that the title was written.

mysterious: The Greek word that the BSB translates as mysterious refers to truth or knowledge that people have not discovered on their own. Someone else reveals it to them.

The name is told in 17:5b–c. So the mystery is probably that this particular name had not been told before. It is not explained here. People will have to read the name and try to understand its meaning. Other ways to translate this word are:

a name of mystery: (RSV)

a name that has a secret meaning: (GNT)

Also see how you translated this word in 1:20.

17:5b

BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

BABYLON: The name of this woman is BABYLON. It is used in the same way in 14:8 and 16:19.

THE GREAT: This word means “important” or “well-known” here. It does not indicate that Babylon was good or noble in any way. See how you translated this word in 16:19 or possibly 17:1.

THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES: This phrase indicates figuratively that the woman is the origin of all those who do prostitution. Here prostitution refers figuratively to worshiping idols and being unfaithful to God.

In some languages a literal translation would not clearly indicate the figurative meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

PROSTITUTES: Here this word implies seduction, immorality, greed, and immoral selling practices, as well as other shameful deeds. See how you translated this word in 17:1.

17:5c

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH: The word “mother” is implied from 17:5b but not repeated here. The woman began the ABOMINATIONS and other people followed her in those sins. In some languages it is more natural to repeat the meaning of the word “mother” here. For example:

Mother of the Abominations of the Earth

Originator of the Abominations of the Earth

ABOMINATIONS: This word refers to deeds that are detestable or very awful. The word refers figuratively to the woman’s sinful life and deeds. Other ways to translate this word are:

Obscenities (NLT)

detestable things (NET)

See how you translated this word in 17:4 (“abominations”).


UTNuW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς & γεγραμμένον

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: καί ἐπί τό μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον Μυστήριον Βαβυλών ἡ Μεγάλη ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καί τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς)

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [someone had written on her forehead]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys

ὄνομα & Μυστήριον

˓a˒_name & Mystery

This phrase expresses a single idea by using two words together. The word mystery tells what kind of name was written on the woman’s forehead. If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this meaning with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [a mysterious name] or [a name that had a symbolic meaning]

Note 3 topic: translate-names

ὄνομα & Μυστήριον

˓a˒_name & Mystery

Some interpreters consider the word mystery to be part of the name of this woman. Alternate translation: [a name: Mystery,]

BI Rev 17:5 ©