Revelation 18:20-24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her condemnation of you.(A)
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“With such violence Babylon the great city
will be thrown down
and will be found no more;(B)
22 and the sound of harpists and entertainers and of flutists and trumpeters
will be heard in you no more,
and an artisan of any trade
will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the millstone
will be heard in you no more,(C)
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the magnates of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.(D)
24 And in you[a] was found the blood of prophets and of saints
and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”(E)
Footnotes
- 18.24 Gk her
Revelation 18:20-24
New English Translation
20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has pronounced judgment[a] against her on your behalf!)[b]
21 Then[c] one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
“With this kind of sudden violent force[d]
Babylon the great city will be thrown down[e]
and it will never be found again!
22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,
flute players, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you[f] again.
No[g] craftsman[h] who practices any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the noise of a mill[i] will never be heard in you again.
23 Even the light from a lamp
will never shine in you again!
The voices of the bridegroom and his bride
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,
because all the nations[j] were deceived by your magic spells![k]
24 The[l] blood of the saints and prophets was found in her,[m]
along with the blood[n] of all those who had been killed on the earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 18:20 tn On the phrase “pronounced judgment” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 4.b states, “The OT is the source of the expr. κρίνειν τὸ κρ. (cp. Zech 7:9; 8:16; Ezk 44:24) ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς God has pronounced judgment for you against her or God has pronounced on her the judgment she wished to impose on you (HHoltzmann, Hdb. 1893 ad loc.) Rv 18:20.”
- Revelation 18:20 tn Grk “God has judged a judgment of you of her.” Verse 20 is set in parentheses because in it the saints, etc. are addressed directly in the second person. sn This verse forms a parenthetical aside in the narrative.
- Revelation 18:21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
- Revelation 18:21 tn On ὅρμημα (hormēma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.
- Revelation 18:21 sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.
- Revelation 18:22 tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.
- Revelation 18:22 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
- Revelation 18:22 tn On this term BDAG 1001 s.v. τεχνίτης states, “craftsperson, artisan, designer…Of a silversmith Ac 19:24, 25 v.l., 38….Of a potter 2 Cl 8:2 (metaph., cp. Ath. 15:2). πᾶς τεχνίτης πάσης τέχνης Rv 18:22.”
- Revelation 18:22 tn This is a different Greek word (μύλος, mulos) from the one for the millstone in v. 21 (μύλινος, mulinos). See L&N 7.68.
- Revelation 18:23 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
- Revelation 18:23 tn On the term φαρμακεία (pharmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people—‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”
- Revelation 18:24 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
- Revelation 18:24 tn The shift in pronouns from second to third person corresponds to the Greek text.
- Revelation 18:24 tn Grk “and of all.” The phrase “along with the blood” has been repeated from the previous clause for stylistic reasons.
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