Revelation 17:16

And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — An angel addresses the seer to explain the fate of the symbolic prostitute within the vision’s final judgment sequence. The declaration occurs immediately after the angel defines the waters beneath her as all peoples and nations.

The words — κέρατα (kerata) = horns and δέκα (deka) = ten denote the ten political powers that initially support but ultimately destroy the corrupt system. εἶδες (eides) = you saw anchors the prediction in the seer’s specific visionary experience.

The thread — The destruction by fire echoes Leviticus 21:9 and Revelation 18:8, while the turning of former allies against the corrupt figure parallels Ezekiel 16:37. The angel in Revelation 17:17 clarifies that God orchestrates this unity to fulfill His word.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that worldly power structures will inevitably consume their own corrupt creations. It requires the reader to align with God’s sovereign purpose rather than trust in temporary political alliances.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

Cross-references

Revelation 18:8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
Ezekiel 16:37 therefore I will surely gather all the lovers with whom you found pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose you before them, and they will see you completely naked.
Leviticus 21:9 If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.
Jeremiah 50:41 Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth.
Revelation 17:1 Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
Revelation 18:16 saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
Ezekiel 23:45 But righteous men will sentence them to the punishment of those who commit adultery and bloodshed, because they are adulteresses with blood on their hands.
Revelation 18:19 Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.”
Daniel 7:5 Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’
Revelation 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.