And the kings of the earth will weep and mourn over her, those who committed sexual immorality and lived sensually with her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing far off[a] because of the fear of her torment, saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,
    Babylon the powerful city,
because in one hour your judgment has come!”

11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— 12 cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple cloth and silk and scarlet cloth and all kinds of scented wood and all kinds of ivory goods and all kinds of goods of precious wood and bronze and iron and marble 13 and cinnamon and amomum[b] and incense and ointment and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine wheat flour and wheat and domesticated animals and sheep and horses and carriages and slaves[c] and human lives.

14 “And the fruit your soul desires[d] has departed from you,
and all the luxury and the splendor has perished from you,
    and they will never find them any more.”

15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from them, will stand far off[e], weeping and mourning because of the fear of her torment, 16 saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,
    dressed in fine linen and purple cloth and scarlet cloth,
    and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,
17 because in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!”

And every shipmaster and every seafarer[f] and sailors and all those who labor on the sea stood far off[g] 18 and began to cry out when they[h] saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “Who is like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,
    in which all those who had ships on the sea
        became rich from her prosperity,
because in one hour she has been laid waste!”

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:10 Literally “from afar”
  2. Revelation 18:13 Or “spice”; the term can refer to “spice” in general, or specifically to amomum, a spice from India
  3. Revelation 18:13 Literally “bodies”
  4. Revelation 18:14 Literally “your fruit of desire”
  5. Revelation 18:15 Literally “from afar”
  6. Revelation 18:17 Literally “everyone who sails to a place”
  7. Revelation 18:17 Literally “from afar”
  8. Revelation 18:18 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal

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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