What Does Revelation 17:1 Mean in the King James?
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:
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The “many waters” are not scenery: the next verse names them as peoples, so the announced judgment concerns a power seated over human communities.
THE MEANING
A figure sits above a vast human field, and you are being shown that her judgment is already in view. Her apparent reach does not place her beyond being seen and assessed.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that power spread across many peoples is beyond judgment dissolves here: the verse names its judgment as something that can be shown.
THE ROOT
κρῖμα
krima
GROWS FROM
κρίνω
krinō
To distinguish, decide, or judge; the related noun κρῖμα means a decision or verdict.
The judgment here is a verdict: the great figure and her reach are being brought into view for assessment. The same Greek root names distinguishing and judging, linking the act of seeing clearly with the decision made about what is seen.
ALSO GROWS
krisis: judgment, decision
κρίσις
This related form makes explicit that the verse announces a decision concerning the figure.
kritēs: judge
κριτής
The root also names the one who makes the judgment, connecting the verdict to an act of discernment.
diakrinō: distinguish, discern
διακρίνω
This compound carries the root into discernment, echoing the verse’s promise that the judgment will be shown.
THE PATTERN
Power seated over peoples is exposed and judged, however vast its reach appears.
O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.THE THREAD
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.This verse gives the image its own key: the waters beneath the figure’s seat are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues. Her judgment therefore concerns a power pictured as resting over human communities.
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