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Revelation 17:8-11 ESV . . .The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit [Maybe simply meaning everyone thought the beast was good as dead, and no one would ever hear from it again!] and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. (9) This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains [Egypt; Assyria; Babylon; Medo-Persia; Greece; Rome and Britain/America] on which the woman [religion] is seated; (10) they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, [When this was written in John's day.] and when he does come he must remain only a little while. (11) As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.

Bible prophecy is not linear... God gives seemingly random glimpses of future events that must be assembled in our mind as to their order, often understood only after we see them being revealed. This one exists in the midst of many others about the end of days, and a final wicked king that will or has emerged. (Dan 8:23-26) This idea of hope in the Bible will be foolishness to most people, but sincere  Bible students  servants of God [not meaning religious people] must pay attention go God's word so as to know what to expect. This prophecy seems to represent the very brief existence of an eighth King or Kingdom that never fully materializes, because it itself marks the start of Armageddon; it existing only 3 1/2 years. (Rev 13:5 of 3-8; Dan 7:25 of 23-26)

Several translations make essentially the same striking statement, not merely something vaguely similar:

  • WEB: "is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven"
  • NASB: "an eighth and is one of the seven"
  • NIV: "an eighth king. He belongs to the seven"
  • NET: "an eighth king and yet is one of the seven"
  • CEV: "That beast is one of the seven kings who will return as the eighth king"
  • Young's Literal: "he also is eighth, and out of the seven he is"

The CEV is particularly interesting because it interprets the relationship very explicitly: one of the seven appears again as the eighth.

Revelation 17:8-11 CEV . . .The beast you saw is one that used to be and no longer is. It will come back from the deep pit, [Maybe simply meaning everyone thought the beast was good as dead, and no one would ever hear from it again!] but only to be destroyed. Everyone on earth whose names were not written in the book of life before the time of creation will be amazed. They will see this beast that used to be and no longer is, but will be once more. (9) Anyone with wisdom can figure this out. The seven heads that the woman [religion] is sitting on stand for seven hills. [Egypt; Assyria; Babylon; Medo-Persia; Greece; Rome and Britain/America] These heads are also seven kings. (10) Five of the kings are dead. One is ruling now, and the other one has not yet come. [When this was written in John's day.] But when he does, he will rule for only a little while. (11) You also saw a beast that used to be and no longer is. That beast is one of the seven kings who will return as the eighth king, but only to be destroyed.

Revelation 17:8-11 GW . . ."You saw the beast which once was, is no longer, and will come from the bottomless pit [Maybe simply meaning everyone thought the beast was good as dead, and no one would ever hear from it again!] and go to its destruction. Those living on earth, whose names were not written in the Book of Life when the world was created, will be surprised when they see the beast because it was, is no longer, and will come again. (9) "In this situation a wise mind is needed. The seven heads are seven mountains [Egypt; Assyria; Babylon; Medo-Persia; Greece; Rome and Britain/America] on which the woman [religion] is sitting. (10) They are also seven kings. Five of them have fallen, one is ruling now, and the other has not yet come. [When this was written in John's day.] When he comes, he must remain for a little while. (11) The beast that was and is no longer is the eighth king. It belongs with the seven kings and goes to its destruction.

Revelation 17:8-11 LITV . . .The beast which you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss, [Maybe simply meaning everyone thought the beast was good as dead, and no one would ever hear from it again!] and goes to perdition. And those dwelling on the earth will marvel, the ones whose names have not been written on the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, seeing the beast, that it was a thing, and is not, yet now is. (9) Here is the mind having wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains, [Egypt; Assyria; Babylon; Medo-Persia; Greece; Rome and Britain/America] where the woman [religion] sits on them. (10) And the kings are seven. The five fell, and the one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he does come, [When this was written in John's day.] he must remain a little. (11) And the beast which was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes to perdition.

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You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals.
The Translations we quote are:

ALT - Analytical Literal Translation

ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).

BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English

Bishops - 1568 Bishop's Bible

Calvin - 1856 by Calvin Translation Society

CEV - Contemporary English Version

Coverdale - 1535 Miles Coverdale Bible

Darby - 1889 Darby Bible

DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible

ESV - English Standard Version

GNB - Good News Bible

GW - God's Word Bible

ISV - International Standard Version

KJV - 1769 King James Version

KJV-1611 - Old King James Version from 1611

LitNT - Literal New Testament

LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible

MKJV - 1962 Modern King James Version

Murdock - 1851 James Murdock New Testament

MWT - Modern World Translation

NWT - New World Translation

RV - Revised Version

Webster - 1833 Webster Bible

WTNT - 1525-26 William Tyndale New Testament

Wycliffe - 1394 Wycliffe Bible

YLT - 1862/1898 Young's Literal Translation

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