17:6 martyrs of Jesus. Note Jeremiah 51:7 and Isaiah 47:5. Like many Old Testament prophecies, there had both near and far fulfillments. They applied directly to the Babylon of their own day, and its conquest by Persia and Greece, then ultimately to this end-time Babylon, which will finally see the ancient prophecies completely fulfilled (e.g., Jeremiah 51:63,64).

17:6 admiration. “Admiration” should be understood in the sense of “amazement” rather than “approval.”