Revelation17:15

Translation

Then he said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute

sits,

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are

peoples

and multitudes and nations and languages,

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Paraphrase

Then he said to me, “The abundance you saw, over which

the woman (the one who is willing to sell her soul to get what she wants) is ruling, represent a great many types of people, many different collections of people, many ethnicities and language groups,

Footnotes

1: “Where the prostitute sits”

Once again we see a picture of one of Satan’s tricks; this time it is allure. Here the tempter is presented as a woman, a prostitute. This power exercised over many people is a reality because they have granted this deceiver and tempter power over them by yielding to his prior temptations.

2

Here we see a layering of emphasis: As with other cases in Revelation where similar groupings of people are mentioned, the point here is that people from every conceivable grouping imaginable are included.