What Does Revelation 17:10 Mean in the King James?
And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
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 next king arrives already measured for a brief stay.
THE MEANING
Power still appears in sequences: some rulers fall, one stands, and another has not yet arrived. Even the coming ruler’s time is short. The identities remain unnamed here, but the limit on his reign is explicit.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A power’s arrival does not mean it will endure; this verse places a limit on the next ruler’s tenure from the start.
THE ROOT
μεῖναι
meinai
GROWS FROM
μένω
menō
to remain, stay, or abide
English “continue” can sound like moving forward, while μεῖναι means to remain or stay. The verse describes the king’s rule as a stay with a clear boundary: he remains only a little while.
ALSO GROWS
monē: dwelling, abode
μονή
The same word family can name a place of staying; here it describes a ruler’s time of staying, and that time is brief.
hypomenō: endure, remain under
ὑπομένω
This branch carries the sense of lasting through something, which sharpens the contrast with the next king’s short tenure.
ὀλίγον
oligon
GROWS FROM
ὀλίγος
oligos
little, few, small
The same word can measure a small amount or a short duration. Here it makes the coming king’s span explicitly brief, not simply the next stage in an open-ended sequence.
ALSO GROWS
oligoi: few
ὀλίγοι
This form measures a small number; the verse uses the same word family to measure a small amount of time.
oligon: a little, for a short while
ὀλίγον
This is the form used here: the king’s remaining time is described as little.
βασιλεῖς
basileis
GROWS FROM
βασιλεύς
basileus
king, ruler
“kings” in this verse is basileis. The word belongs to a family that names both the ruler and the act or domain of ruling. That makes the sequence a succession of rule, while the verse stresses that even the next reign has a limit.
ALSO GROWS
basileia: kingdom, reign
βασιλεία
The ruler’s title is linked to the reign itself; the verse measures how long that reign lasts.
basileuō: to reign, rule as king
βασιλεύω
This branch names the act of ruling, which the verse presents as temporary for the king who is yet to come.
THE PATTERN
Political power moves through bounded spans: dominion can be removed, authority can be granted, and an arriving ruler can have only a brief tenure.
As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.THE THREAD
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.The same Greek word, ὀλίγον (oligon, “a little” or “a short while”), describes the coming king’s stay and the Slanderer’s remaining time. Its repetition makes the brevity of these spans part of Revelation’s shared language for limited duration.
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