Revelation 17:6
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Study Note
Study Note
John's vision of Babylon the Great as 'drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus' employs the harlot imagery of Nahum 3:4 and Ezekiel 16 to portray Rome as the embodiment of economic imperialism and anti-Christian violence. John's astonishment (thaumazō) at the vision is itself remarkable — he is warned against worshipping angels (19:10) but here is arrested by the spectacle of evil, perhaps suggesting the seductive power of the imperial system. The 'blood of the martyrs' (martyrōn Iēsou) links Revelation's persecution context to the earlier altar-cry of 6:10, creating an intertextual argument about the continuity of anti-Christian violence across history. Historicist, idealist, and futurist interpretations have identified Babylon variously with Rome, with any corrupt world power, or with a yet-future eschatological empire.
Other Translations
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.
And I saw the woman drunken from the blood of the saints, and from the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, and I did wonder--having seen her--with great wonder;
And I saw the woman overcome as with the wine of the blood of the saints, and the blood of those put to death because of Jesus. And when I saw her, I was overcome with a great wonder.
Cross References
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, …
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them …
And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, …
I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and …
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain …
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and …
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved …
And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given …
And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should …