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1 Καὶ ἦλθεν εἷς ἐκ τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀγγέλων τῶν ἐχόντων τὰς ἑπτὰ φιάλας, καὶ ἐλάλησεν μετ' ἐμοῦ λέγων: δεῦρο, δείξω σοι τὸ κρίμα τῆς πόρνης τῆς μεγάλης τῆς καθημένης ἐπὶ ὑδάτων πολλῶν, 2 μεθ' ἧς ἐπόρνευσαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐμεθύσθησαν οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν γῆν ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς. 3 καὶ ἀπήνεγκέν με εἰς ἔρημον ἐν πνεύματι. καὶ εἶδον γυναῖκα καθημένην ἐπὶ θηρίον κόκκινον, γέμοντα ὀνόματα βλασφημίας, ἔχων κεφαλὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ κέρατα δέκα. 4 καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἦν περιβεβλημένη πορφυροῦν καὶ κόκκινον, καὶ κεχρυσωμένη χρυσίῳ καὶ λίθῳ τιμίῳ καὶ μαργαρίταις, ἔχουσα ποτήριον χρυσοῦν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτῆς γέμον βδελυγμάτων καὶ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς, 5 καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῆς ὄνομα γεγραμμένον, μυστήριον, Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς. 6 καὶ εἶδον τὴν γυναῖκα μεθύουσαν ἐκ τοῦ αἵματος τῶν ἁγίων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ αἵματος τῶν μαρτύρων Ἰησοῦ. καὶ ἐθαύμασα ἰδὼν αὐτὴν θαῦμα μέγα. 7 Καὶ εἶπέν μοι ὁ ἄγγελος, διὰ τί ἐθαύμασας; ἐγὼ ἐρῶ σοι τὸ μυστήριον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ τοῦ θηρίου τοῦ βαστάζοντος αὐτήν, τοῦ ἔχοντος τὰς ἑπτὰ κεφαλὰς καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα: 8 τὸ θηρίον ὃ εἶδες ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν, καὶ μέλλει ἀναβαίνειν ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγει: καὶ θαυμασθήσονται οἱ κατοικοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὧν οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα ἐπὶ τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, βλεπόντων τὸ θηρίον ὅτι ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν καὶ παρέσται. 9 ὧδε ὁ νοῦς ὁ ἔχων σοφίαν. αἱ ἑπτὰ κεφαλαὶ ἑπτὰ ὄρη εἰσίν, ὅπου ἡ γυνὴ κάθηται ἐπ' αὐτῶν. καὶ βασιλεῖς ἑπτά εἰσιν: 10 οἱ πέντε ἔπεσαν, ὁ εἷς ἔστιν, ὁ ἄλλος οὔπω ἦλθεν, καὶ ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὀλίγον αὐτὸν δεῖ μεῖναι. 11 καὶ τὸ θηρίον ὃ ἦν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν, καὶ αὐτὸς ὄγδοός ἐστιν καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἑπτά ἐστιν, καὶ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγει. 12 καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα ἃ εἶδες δέκα βασιλεῖς εἰσιν, οἵτινες βασιλείαν οὔπω ἔλαβον, ἀλλὰ ἐξουσίαν ὡς βασιλεῖς μίαν ὥραν λαμβάνουσιν μετὰ τοῦ θηρίου. 13 οὗτοι μίαν γνώμην ἔχουσιν, καὶ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ ἐξουσίαν αὐτῶν τῷ θηρίῳ διδόασιν. 14 οὗτοι μετὰ τοῦ ἀρνίου πολεμήσουσιν, καὶ τὸ ἀρνίον νικήσει αὐτούς ὅτι κύριος κυρίων ἐστὶν καὶ βασιλεὺς βασιλέων, καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ κλητοὶ καὶ ἐκλεκτοὶ καὶ πιστοί. 15 καὶ λέγει μοι, τὰ ὕδατα ἃ εἶδες, οὗ ἡ πόρνη κάθηται, λαοὶ καὶ ὄχλοι εἰσὶν καὶ ἔθνη καὶ γλῶσσαι. 16 καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα ἃ εἶδες καὶ τὸ θηρίον, οὗτοι μισήσουσιν τὴν πόρνην, καὶ ἠρημωμένην ποιήσουσιν αὐτὴν καὶ γυμνήν, καὶ τὰς σάρκας αὐτῆς φάγονται, καὶ αὐτὴν κατακαύσουσιν ἐν πυρί: 17 ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἔδωκεν εἰς τὰς καρδίας αὐτῶν ποιῆσαι τὴν γνώμην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ποιῆσαι μίαν γνώμην καὶ δοῦναι τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῶν τῷ θηρίῳ, ἄχρι τελεσθήσονται οἱ λόγοι τοῦ θεοῦ. 18 καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἣν εἶδες ἔστιν ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη ἡ ἔχουσα βασιλείαν ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς. | 1 And now one of the angels that bear the seven cups came and spoke to me. Come with me, he said, and I will shew thee how judgement is pronounced on the great harlot, that sits by the meeting-place of many rivers. 2 The kings of the world have committed fornication with her; all the dwellers on earth have been drunk with the wine of her dalliance. 3 Then, in a trance, he carried me off into the wilderness, where I saw a woman riding on a scarlet beast, scrawled over with names of blasphemy; it had seven heads, and ten horns. 4 The woman went clad in purple and scarlet, all hung about with gold and jewels and pearls, and held a golden cup in her hand, full to the brim with those abominations of hers, with the lewdness of her harlot’s ways. 5 There was a title written over her forehead, The mystic Babylon, great mother-city of all harlots, and all that is abominable on earth. 6 I saw this woman drunk with the blood of saints, the blood of those who bore witness to Jesus; and I was filled with great wonder at the sight. 7 But the angel said to me, Why dost thou find cause for wonder? I will disclose to thee the mystery of this woman, and of the beast she rides, with its seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast thou sawest is that which lived once, and now is dead; soon it must rise from the abyss, and find its way to utter destruction. The sight of this beast which lived once, and now is dead, will strike awe into every dweller on earth, except those whose names have been written, before the world was, in the book of life. 9 Here is need for a discerning mind. These seven heads are seven hills; upon these the woman sits enthroned. They are also seven kings; 10 of these, five have fallen already, one is reigning now; the last has not come yet, but when he does, his reign will be a short one. 11 And the beast which lived once and now is dead must be reckoned as the eighth, yet it is one of the seven; now it is to find its way to utter destruction.[1] 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have not yet received their royal title, but are to enjoy such power as kings have, for one hour, in succession to the beast.[2] 13 All of them have a single policy; they surrender to the beast the power and the dominion which is theirs. 14 And they will fight against the Lamb, but the Lamb will have the mastery of them; he is Lord of all lords, King of all kings; whoever is called, is chosen, is faithful, will take his part. 15 Then he told me, These waters in thy vision, at whose meeting the harlot sits enthroned, are all her peoples, nations, and languages. 16 And the ten horns, which the beast had in thy vision, will become the harlot’s enemies; they will lay her waste, and strip her quite bare, eat her flesh away, and then burn down what is left of her.[3] 17 God has put it into their hearts to carry out his design, and to give their dominion over to the beast, so that at last all the words of God may be fulfilled. 18 And as for the woman of thy vision, she is that great city that bears rule over the rulers of the earth. | 1 Et venit unus de septem angelis, qui habebant septem phialas, et locutus est mecum, dicens: Veni, ostendam tibi damnationem meretricis magnæ, quæ sedet super aquas multas, 2 cum qua fornicati sunt reges terræ, et inebriati sunt qui inhabitant terram de vino prostitutionis ejus. 3 Et abstulit me in spiritu in desertum. Et vidi mulierem sedentem super bestiam coccineam, plenam nominibus blasphemiæ, habentem capita septem, et cornua decem. 4 Et mulier erat circumdata purpura, et coccino, et inaurata auro, et lapide pretioso, et margaritis, habens poculum aureum in manu sua, plenum abominatione, et immunditia fornicationis ejus. 5 Et in fronte ejus nomen scriptum: Mysterium: Babylon magna, mater fornicationum, et abominationum terræ. 6 Et vidi mulierem ebriam de sanguine sanctorum, et de sanguine martyrum Jesu. Et miratus sum cum vidissem illam admiratione magna. 7 Et dixit mihi angelus: Quare miraris? ego dicam tibi sacramentum mulieris, et bestiæ, quæ portat eam, quæ habet capita septem, et cornua decem. 8 Bestia, quam vidisti, fuit, et non est, et ascensura est de abysso, et in interitum ibit: et mirabuntur inhabitantes terram (quorum non sunt scripta nomina in libro vitæ a constitutione mundi) videntes bestiam, quæ erat, et non est. 9 Et hic est sensus, qui habet sapientiam. Septem capita, septem montes sunt, super quos mulier sedet, et reges septem sunt. 10 Quinque ceciderunt, unus est, et alius nondum venit: et cum venerit, oportet illum breve tempus manere. 11 Et bestia, quæ erat, et non est: et ipsa octava est: et de septem est, et in interitum vadit. 12 Et decem cornua, quæ vidisti, decem reges sunt: qui regnum nondum acceperunt, sed potestatem tamquam reges una hora accipient post bestiam. 13 Hi unum consilium habent, et virtutem, et potestatem suam bestiæ tradent. 14 Hi cum Agno pugnabunt, et Agnus vincet illos: quoniam Dominus dominorum est, et Rex regum, et qui cum illo sunt, vocati, electi, et fideles. 15 Et dixit mihi: Aquæ, quas vidisti ubi meretrix sedet, populi sunt, et gentes, et linguæ. 16 Et decem cornua, quæ vidisti in bestia: hi odient fornicariam, et desolatam facient illam, et nudam, et carnes ejus manducabunt, et ipsam igni concremabunt. 17 Deus enim dedit in corda eorum ut faciant quod placitum est illi: ut dent regnum suum bestiæ donec consummentur verba Dei. 18 Et mulier, quam vidisti, est civitas magna, quæ habet regnum super reges terræ. |
[1] vv. 8, 11: It has been conjectured that the seven kings are the emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, and Titus (Galba, Otho, and Vitellius being regarded as usurpers). There seems to have been a popular legend that Nero was not really dead, or perhaps would come to life again; he would thus be one of the seven and yet, as reincarnate, count as an eighth. If this interpretation is right, the present passage seems to allude to the short reign of Titus as the seventh king, and to identify his successor, Domitian, as a reincarnation of Nero, whose persecuting policy he revived.
[2] ‘In succession to the beast’; the Greek has ‘together with the beast’.
[3] ‘The ten horns, which the beast had in thy vision’; the Greek has, ‘the ten horns in thy vision, together with the beast’.
Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd