16:6 because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets,
so 9 you have given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved!” 10
18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has pronounced judgment 11 against her on your behalf!) 12
18:21 Then 13 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 14
Babylon the great city will be thrown down 15
and it will never be found again!
18:22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,
flute players, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you 16 again.
No 17 craftsman 18 who practices any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the noise of a mill 19 will never be heard in you again.
18:23 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 20 were deceived by your magic spells! 21
18:24 The 22 blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, 23
along with the blood 24 of all those who had been killed on the earth.”
7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.
He will harass 26 the holy ones of the Most High continually.
His intention 27 will be to change times established by law. 28
They will be delivered into his hand
For a time, times, 29 and half a time.
1 tn Grk “and it was given to him to go to war.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tc Many
3 tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.
4 tn Grk “and people,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
5 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the second beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “it was given [permitted] to it [the second beast].”
7 tn Grk “breath,” but in context the point is that the image of the first beast is made to come to life and speak.
8 tn Grk “of the beast”; the word “first” has been supplied to specify the referent.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this judgment is the result of what these wicked people did to the saints and prophets.
10 tn Grk “They are worthy”; i.e., of this kind of punishment. By extension, “they got what they deserve.”
11 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.”
12 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.
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
14 tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) 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.
15 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.
16 tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.
17 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
18 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.”
19 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.
20 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
21 tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “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.”
22 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
23 tn The shift in pronouns from second to third person corresponds to the Greek text.
24 tn Grk “and of all.” The phrase “along with the blood” has been repeated from the previous clause for stylistic reasons.
25 tn Aram “prevailing against” (KJV and ASV both similar); NASB “overpowering them”; TEV “conquered them.”
26 tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”
27 tn Aram “he will think.”
28 tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.
29 sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”