Revelation 18:9-19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
9 And the kings of the earth, who engaged in sexual immorality[a] and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;(A) 10 they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas, alas, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in one hour your judgment has come.”(B)
11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble,(C) 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.[b](D)
14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendor
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
15 The merchants of these wares, who grew wealthy from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,(E)
16 “Alas, alas, the great city,
clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!(F)
17 For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste!”
And all shipmasters and seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off(G) 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,
“What city was like the great city?”(H)
19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, the great city,
where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For in one hour she has been laid waste.”(I)
Revelation 18:9-19
New English Translation
9 Then[a] the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury[b] with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up.[c] 10 They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say,
“Woe, woe, O great city,
Babylon the powerful city!
For in a single hour your doom[d] has come!”
11 Then[e] the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo[f] any longer— 12 cargo such as gold, silver,[g] precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk,[h] scarlet cloth,[i] all sorts of things made of citron wood,[j] all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice,[k] incense, perfumed ointment,[l] frankincense,[m] wine, olive oil and costly flour,[n] wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages,[o] slaves and human lives.[p]
14 (The ripe fruit[q] you greatly desired[r]
has gone from you,
and all your luxury[s] and splendor[t]
have gone from you—
they will never ever be found again!)[u]
15 The merchants who sold[v] these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep[w] and mourn, 16 saying,
“Woe, woe, O great city—
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing,[x]
and adorned with gold,[y] precious stones, and pearls—
17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!”[z]
And every ship’s captain,[aa] and all who sail along the coast[ab]—seamen, and all who[ac] make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18 and began to shout[ad] when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up,[ae] “Who is like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning,[af]
“Woe, Woe, O great city—
in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth—
because in a single hour she has been destroyed!”[ag]
Footnotes
- Revelation 18:9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
- Revelation 18:9 tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrēniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”
- Revelation 18:9 tn Grk “from the burning of her.” For the translation “the smoke from the fire that burns her up,” see L&N 14.63.
- Revelation 18:10 tn Or “judgment,” condemnation,” “punishment.” BDAG 569 s.v. κρίσις 1.a.β states, “The word oft. means judgment that goes against a person, condemnation, and the sentence that follows…ἡ κ. σου your judgment Rv 18:10.”
- Revelation 18:11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
- Revelation 18:11 tn On γόμος (gomos) BDAG 205 s.v. states, “load, freight…cargo of a ship…Ac 21:3. W. gen. of the owner Rv 18:11. W. gen. of content…γ. χρυσοῦ a cargo of gold vs. 12.”
- Revelation 18:12 tn Grk “and silver,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before most of these terms since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more
- Revelation 18:12 tn On this term BDAG 924-25 s.v. σιρικός states, “per. to silk from Ser, subst. τὸ σιρικόν silk cloth or garments w. other costly materials Rv 18:12.”
- Revelation 18:12 tn On the translation of κόκκινον (kokkinon) as “scarlet cloth” see L&N 6.170.
- Revelation 18:12 tn On the phrase πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον (pan xulon thuinon) L&N 3.63 states, “pertaining to being made or consisting of citron wood (that is, from a citron tree)—‘of citron wood.’ καὶ πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον καὶ πᾶν σκεῦος ἐλεφάντινον ‘and all kinds of things made of citron wood and all kinds of objects made of ivory’ Re 18:12. The citron tree belongs to the citrus family of plants, and it produces a pale yellow fruit somewhat larger than a lemon, the rind of which is often candied. In Re 18:12, however, the focus is upon the fine quality of the wood.”
- Revelation 18:13 tn On the term ἄμωμον (amōmon) L&N 5.23 states, “a generic term for any kind of spice, though often a specific reference to amomum, an Indian type of spice—‘spice, amomum.’ κιννάμωμον καὶ ἄμωμον καὶ θυμιάματα ‘cinnamon and spice and incense’ Re 18:13. In most translations ἄμωμον is interpreted as spice in general.”
- Revelation 18:13 tn Or “myrrh,” a strong aromatic ointment often used to prepare a body for burial (L&N 6.205).
- Revelation 18:13 tn The Greek term λίβανος (libanos) refers to the aromatic resin of a certain type of tree (L&N 6.212).
- Revelation 18:13 tn On σεμίδαλις (semidalis) L&N 5.10 states, “a fine grade of wheat flour—‘fine flour.’ οἶνον καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ σεμίδαλιν καὶ σῖτον ‘wine and oil and fine flour and wheat’ Re 18:13. In some languages ‘fine flour’ may be best expressed as ‘expensive flour.’ Such a rendering fits well the context of Re 18:13.”
- Revelation 18:13 tn Or “and wagons.” On the term ῥέδη (rhedē) see L&N 6.53: “a four-wheeled carriage or wagon used for travel or the transportation of loads—‘carriage, wagon.’ The term ῥέδη occurs only in Re 18:13 in a list of products bought and sold by merchants.”
- Revelation 18:13 tn Grk “and bodies and souls of men.” This could be understood (1) as a hendiadys (two things mentioned = one thing meant), referring only to slave trade; (2) it could be referring to two somewhat different concepts: slavery (bodies) and the cheapness of human life—some of the items earlier in the list of merchandise were to be obtained only at great cost of human life; or (3) a somewhat related idea, that the trade is in not just physical bodies (slavery) but human souls (people whose lives are destroyed through this trade).
- Revelation 18:14 tn On ὀπώρα (opōra) L&N 3.34 states, “ἡ ὀπώρα σου τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ψυχῆς ‘the ripe fruit for which you longed’ Re 18:14. In this one occurrence of ὀπώρα in the NT, ‘ripe fruit’ is to be understood in a figurative sense of ‘good things.’”
- Revelation 18:14 tn Grk “you desired in your soul.”
- Revelation 18:14 tn On λιπαρός (liparos) BDAG 597 s.v. states, “luxury Rv 18:14.”
- Revelation 18:14 tn On τὰ λαμπρά (ta lampra) BDAG 585 s.v. λαμπρός 4 states, “splendor…in which a rich man takes delight (cp. Jos., Ant. 12, 220 δωρεὰς δοὺς λαμπράς) Rv 18:14.”
- Revelation 18:14 tn Verse 14 is set in parentheses because in it the city, Babylon, is addressed directly in second person. sn This verse forms a parenthetical aside in the narrative.
- Revelation 18:15 tn Grk “the merchants [sellers] of these things.”
- Revelation 18:15 tn Grk “her torment, weeping.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation by supplying the words “They will” here.
- Revelation 18:16 tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.
- Revelation 18:16 tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).
- Revelation 18:17 tn On ἠρημώθη (ērēmōthē) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned—‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”
- Revelation 18:17 tn On κυβερνήτης (kubernētēs) BDAG 574 s.v. 1 states, “one who is responsible for the management of a ship, shipmaster, lit. Rv 18:17.”
- Revelation 18:17 tn Or perhaps, “everyone who sails as a passenger.” On πλέων (pleōn) BDAG 825 s.v. πλέω states, “πᾶς ὁ ἐπὶ τόπον πλέων everyone who sails to a place = seafarer, sea traveler…Rv 18:17. The vv.ll.…have led to various interpretations. Some render: everyone who sails along the coast…See EbNestle, Einführung in das Griech. NT 1909, 182; AFridrichsen, K. Hum. Vetensk.-Samf. i Upps. Årsb. ’43, 31 note ὁ ἐπίτοπον πλέων=one who sails occasionally, a passenger.—S. also IHeikel, StKr 106, ’34/’35, 317).”
- Revelation 18:17 tn Grk “and as many as.”
- Revelation 18:18 tn Here the imperfect ἔκραζον (ekrazon) has been translated ingressively.
- Revelation 18:18 tn Grk “from the burning of her, saying.” For the translation “the smoke from the fire that burned her up,” see L&N 14.63. Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.
- Revelation 18:19 tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.
- Revelation 18:19 tn On ἡρημώθη (hērēmōthē) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned—‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”
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