Revelation 17:18

18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Revelation 17:18 in Other Translations

KJV
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
ESV
18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth."
NLT
18 And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world.”
MSG
18 The woman you saw is the great city, tyrannizing the kings of the earth."
CSB
18 And the woman you saw is the great city that has an empire over the kings of the earth."

Revelation 17:18 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 17:18

And the woman which thou sawest
( Revelation 17:3 ) as there described,

is that great city,
often mentioned in this book; great Babylon, the city of Rome, ( Revelation 11:8 ) ( 14:8 ) ( 16:19 ) which reigneth over the kings of the earth; which then reigned in John's time over the kings of the earth; and this clearly points out the city of Rome, for there was no other city then, but that, which reigned over the kings of the earth; that was then the metropolis of the Roman empire, to which the whole world was subject; and therefore it is called all the world, ( Luke 2:1 ) and since, all the kings of the empire have been under the jurisdiction of Rome Papal. It was formerly called Urbs Regum, a "city of kings" F26, either for the reason in the text, or because its inhabitants looked like kings.


FOOTNOTES:

F26 Justin. l. 18. c. 2.

Revelation 17:18 In-Context

16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled.
18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Cross References 1

  • 1. Revelation 16:19; Revelation 18:10,18,19,21
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