complete verse (Revelation 17:11)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 17:11:

  • Uma: “The animal that lived long ago and no longer is at this time, he is the eighth king. But that eighth king is one of the earlier seven. And in the end that king he will definitely be punished forever.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And the creature that formerly lived, and is dead now, he will be the eighth king. He is one of those seven kings and he is heading for his final-end.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The interpretation of the beast who was once alive and is now dead, he is an eighth king who will follow the seven kings. He will be punished in the future in hell.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That-aforementioned-one which existed previously and doesn’t exist now, he is counted as the eighth king, but he indeed also was one of the seven. Later he will go to his punishment that is forever.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And well, that monster, who was alive in the past but today is no more, he is the one who is the eighth king. However he is indeed one of those seven. And then when he comes again, he will be taken to the great hardship/punishment which has no ending.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the terrible animal who was known to have lived before and now it is not known that he is living, this one is the eighth of the rulers to live. He is a companion of the seven rulers before him. But in the end he will be punished.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 17:11

The beast that was and is not … is an eighth: this means that the beast that will come back from the abyss (verse 8) will become the eighth king. As stated in verse 8, he is doomed to destruction.

It belongs to the seven: the Greek seems to mean, as Good News Translation and others translate it, that “it is one of the seven.” That is, the eighth king will be one of the seven previous kings; the text does not say which one of them he will be. This explains how the seven heads can represent eight kings; one of the kings will rule twice.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 17:11

17:11a

that was, and now is not: See how you translated these words in 17:8. Note that the conjunction and occurs between the clauses here. As in 17:8, there is implied contrast between the two clauses.

is an eighth king: The context probably indicates that the beast will become a king when he ascends from the Abyss (17:8b). In some languages it is more natural to refer to this future time. For example:

will be an eighth king
-or-
will return as the eighth king (Contemporary English Version)

eighth: The word eighth here refers to the last of a total of eight kings. There may have been other kings of this empire or kingdom, but only eight are being considered here. Some languages use a phrase for the meaning of the word eighth. For example:

the one after the other seven
-or-
who became king after the seven kings

17:11b

who belongs to the other seven: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as belongs :

(1) The beast was like or connected to the other seven kings in some way. For example:

He is like the other seven. (New Living Translation (2004))

(2) The beast was one of the seven kings earlier and became king again. For example:

who is one of the seven (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it best follows the meaning of the Greek words.

17:11c

is going into destruction: These words indicate that it is God’s plan that the beast will be destroyed. See how you translated these words in 17:8.

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