Revelation 17:7
New International Version
Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

New Living Translation
“Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.

English Standard Version
But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

Berean Standard Bible
“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

Berean Literal Bible
And the angel said to me, "Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast carrying her, having the seven heads and the ten horns.

King James Bible
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

New King James Version
But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

New American Standard Bible
And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

NASB 1995
And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

NASB 1977
And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I shall tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

Amplified Bible
But the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

Christian Standard Bible
Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the ten horns, that carries her.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the 10 horns, that carries her.

American Standard Version
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Angel said to me, “Why are you stunned? I shall tell you the mystery of The Woman and of The Beast that bears her, which has seven heads and ten horns.”

Contemporary English Version
and the angel said: Why are you so amazed? I will explain the mystery about this woman and about the beast she is sitting on, with its seven heads and ten horns.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the angel said to me: Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

English Revised Version
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The angel asked me, "Why are you surprised? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her.

Good News Translation
"Why are you amazed?" the angel asked me. "I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with seven heads and ten horns.

International Standard Version
"Why are you surprised?" The angel asked me. "I will tell you the secret of the woman and the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns that carries her.

Literal Standard Version
and the messenger said to me, “For this reason did you wonder? I will tell you the secret of the woman and of the beast that [is] carrying her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

Majority Standard Bible
“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

New American Bible
The angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with the seven heads and the ten horns.

NET Bible
But the angel said to me, "Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

New Revised Standard Version
But the angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

New Heart English Bible
The angel said to me, "Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the angel said to me, Why didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

Weymouth New Testament
Then the angel said to me, "Why are you so astonished? I will explain to you the secret meaning of the woman and of the seven-headed, ten-horned Wild Beast which carries her.

World English Bible
The angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

Young's Literal Translation
and the messenger said to me, 'Wherefore didst thou wonder? I -- I will tell thee the secret of the woman and of the beast that is carrying her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Mystery Explained
6I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her. 7“Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.…

Cross References
2 Thessalonians 2:7
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.

Revelation 1:20
This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Revelation 12:3
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.

Revelation 17:3
And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

Revelation 17:5
And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Revelation 18:1
After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.


Treasury of Scripture

And the angel said to me, Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

I will.

Revelation 17:1-6,8
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: …

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Revelation 17
1. A woman arrayed in purple and scarlet, with a golden cup in her hand sits upon the beast;
5. which is great Babylon, the mother of all abominations.
9. The interpretation of the seven heads;
12. and the ten horns.
14. The victory of the Lamb.
16. The punishment of the harlot.














Verse 7. - And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? did thou wonder? — the same word as in ver. 6. Though the seer cannot fully comprehend the terrible significance of the sign he sees, viz. that a portion of the Church is one with the hostile world (see on ver. 6), yet there are sufficient marks wherewith to identify it. The woman, the wilderness, the reliance upon the world power, the inscription, the similar description of Judah in Jeremiah 2 and 3. (see on ver. 6), might have made the interpretation plain. I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns; the ten horns (cf. ver. 5, which declares that this essential unity is a mystery). Observe, too, that the "mystery of the woman and of the beast" is all one. (On the "beast," "the seven heads," and "the ten horns." see on previous verses, especially Revelation 13:1.) In ver. 1 the harlot is said to sit on the waters; here the beast carries her. The two statements are really identical; both the beast and the waters represent the worldly power found among "peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues" (ver. 14).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
“Why
Διὰ (Dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

are you astonished?”
ἐθαύμασας (ethaumasas)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 2296: (a) intrans: I wonder, marvel, (b) trans: I wonder at, admire. From thauma; to wonder; by implication, to admire.

said
εἶπέν (eipen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2036: Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

the
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

angel.
ἄγγελος (angelos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 32: From aggello; a messenger; especially an 'angel'; by implication, a pastor.

“I
ἐγὼ (egō)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

will tell
ἐρῶ (erō)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2046: Probably a fuller form of rheo; an alternate for epo in certain tenses; to utter, i.e. Speak or say.

you
σοι (soi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

the
τὸ (to)
Article - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

mystery
μυστήριον (mystērion)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3466: From a derivative of muo; a secret or 'mystery'.

of the
τῆς (tēs)
Article - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

woman
γυναικὸς (gynaikos)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 1135: A woman, wife, my lady. Probably from the base of ginomai; a woman; specially, a wife.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

of the
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

beast
θηρίου (thēriou)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 2342: Properly: a wild beast, hence: any animal; met: a brute. Diminutive from the same as thera; a dangerous animal.

that
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

carries
βαστάζοντος (bastazontos)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 941: Perhaps remotely derived from the base of basis; to lift, literally or figuratively.

her,
αὐτήν (autēn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

which
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

has
ἔχοντος (echontos)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 2192: To have, hold, possess. Including an alternate form scheo skheh'-o; a primary verb; to hold.

the
τὰς (tas)
Article - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

seven
ἑπτὰ (hepta)
Adjective - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2033: Seven. A primary number; seven.

heads
κεφαλὰς (kephalas)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2776: From the primary kapto; the head, literally or figuratively.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

ten
δέκα (deka)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 1176: Ten. A primary number; ten.

horns.
κέρατα (kerata)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2768: From a primary kar; a horn.


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NT Prophecy: Revelation 17:7 The angel said to me Why do (Rev. Re Apocalypse)
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