Rev 17:1 | JFB | STEP | 1. unto me —A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit. many —So A. But B, " the many waters" ( ); , below, explains the sense. The whore is the apostate Church, just as "the woman" ( ) is the Church while faithful. Satan having failed by violence, tries too successfully to seduce her by the allurements of the world; unlike her Lord, she was overcome by this temptation; hence she is seen sitting on the scarlet-colored beast, no longer the wife, but the harlot; no longer Jerusalem, but spiritually Sodom ( ).

Revelation of John 17:1

1. unto me—A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit.

many—So A. But B, "the many waters" (Jer 51:13); Re 17:15, below, explains the sense. The whore is the apostate Church, just as "the woman" (Re 12:1-6) is the Church while faithful. Satan having failed by violence, tries too successfully to seduce her by the allurements of the world; unlike her Lord, she was overcome by this temptation; hence she is seen sitting on the scarlet-colored beast, no longer the wife, but the harlot; no longer Jerusalem, but spiritually Sodom (Re 11:8).