And (A)the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, (B)will weep and wail over her (C)when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 (D)They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! (E)You great city,
    you mighty city, Babylon!
For (F)in a single hour your judgment has come.”

11 And (G)the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.[a]

14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
    has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
    are lost to you,
    never to be found again!”

15 (H)The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, (I)will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
    (J)that was clothed in fine linen,
        in purple and scarlet,
    adorned with gold,
        with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For (K)in a single hour all this wealth (L)has been laid waste.”

And (M)all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and (N)cried out (O)as they saw the smoke of her burning,

(P)“What city was like the great city?”

19 And they threw (Q)dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city
    (R)where all who had ships at sea
    grew rich by her wealth!
For (S)in a single hour she has been laid waste.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:13 Or and slaves, and human lives

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in a single hour[a]
your judgment has come.

11 The merchants of the earth will also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any longer— 12 merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine fabrics of linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass,[b] iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, spice,[c][d] incense, myrrh,[e] and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine wheat flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves[f] and human lives.[g](A)

14 The fruit you craved has left you.
All your splendid and glamorous things are gone;
they will never find them again.

15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,
adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls,
17 for in a single hour[h]
such fabulous wealth was destroyed!

And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off 18 as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?”(B) 19 They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning:(C)

Woe, woe, the great city,(D)
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth,
for in a single hour[i] she was destroyed.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:10 Suddenly
  2. Revelation 18:12 Or bronze, or copper
  3. Revelation 18:13 Other mss omit spice
  4. Revelation 18:13 Or amomum, an aromatic plant
  5. Revelation 18:13 Or perfume
  6. Revelation 18:13 Or bodies
  7. Revelation 18:13 Slaves; “bodies” was the Gk way of referring to slaves; “souls of men” was the Hb way.
  8. Revelation 18:17 Suddenly
  9. Revelation 18:19 Suddenly

Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her(A) and shared her luxury(B) see the smoke of her burning,(C) they will weep and mourn over her.(D) 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off(E) and cry:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(F)
    you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour(G) your doom has come!’

11 “The merchants(H) of the earth will weep and mourn(I) over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore(J) 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;(K) 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.(L)

14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her(M) will stand far off,(N) terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn(O) 16 and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(P)
    dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
    and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!(Q)
17 In one hour(R) such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’(S)

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,(T) will stand far off.(U) 18 When they see the smoke of her burning,(V) they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city(W)?’(X) 19 They will throw dust on their heads,(Y) and with weeping and mourning(Z) cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(AA)
    where all who had ships on the sea
    became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’(AB)

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