Revelation 18:10

18:10 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 ¹  has come!”

Revelation 18:21

18:21 Then ²  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 ³ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ⁴ 

and it will never be found again!

Revelation 14:8

14:8 A ⁵  second ⁶  angel ⁷  followed the first, ⁸  declaring: ⁹  “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! ¹⁰  She made all the nations ¹¹  drink of the wine of her immoral passion.” ¹² 

Revelation 16:19

16:19 The ¹³  great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations ¹⁴  collapsed. ¹⁵  So ¹⁶  Babylon the great was remembered before God, and was given the cup ¹⁷  filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath. ¹⁸ 

Revelation 17:5

17:5 On ¹⁹  her forehead was written a name, a mystery: ²⁰  “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.”

Revelation 17:18

17:18 As for ²¹  the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.”

Isaiah 13:19

13:19 Babylon, the most admired ²²  of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ²³ 

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ²⁴ 

Isaiah 21:9

21:9 Look what’s coming!

A charioteer,

a team of horses.” ²⁵ 

When questioned, he replies, ²⁶ 

“Babylon has fallen, fallen!

All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”

Jeremiah 51:8

51:8 But suddenly Babylonia will fall and be destroyed. ²⁷ 

Cry out in mourning over it!

Get medicine for her wounds!

Perhaps she can be healed!

Jeremiah 51:60-64

51:60 Jeremiah recorded ²⁸  on one scroll all the judgments ²⁹  that would come upon Babylon – all these prophecies ³⁰  written about Babylon. 51:61 Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure ³¹  you read aloud all these prophecies. ³²  51:62 Then say, ‘O Lord, you have announced that you will destroy this place so that no people or animals live in it any longer. Certainly it will lie desolate forever!’ 51:63 When you finish reading this scroll aloud, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates River. ³³  51:64 Then say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the judgments ³⁴  I am ready to bring upon her; they will grow faint.’”

The prophecies of Jeremiah end here. ³⁵ 

¹ 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.”

² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

³ 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.

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ tc There are several different variants comprising a textual problem involving “second” (δεύτερος, deuteros). First, several mss (A 1 2329 Ï^K) read “another, a second angel” (ἄλλος δεύτερος ἄγγελος, allo" deutero" angelo"). Second, other mss (Ì⁴⁷ א* 1006 1841 1854 pc) read just “another, a second” (ἄλλος δεύτερος). Third, the reading “another angel” (ἄλλος ἄγγελος) is supported by a few Greek mss and some versional evidence (69 pc ar vg). Fourth, several mss (א² [C reads δεύτερον instead of δεύτερος] 051 1611 2053 2344 Ï^A) support the reading “another, a second angel” (ἄλλος ἄγγελος δεύτερος). The reading that most likely gave rise to the others is the fourth. The first reading attempts to smooth out the grammar by placing the adjective in front of the noun. The second reading may have dropped out the “angel” on the basis of its similarity to “another” (ἄλλος). The third reading either intentionally or accidentally left out the word “second.” In any event, this is weakly attested and should not be given much consideration. (If, however, this reading had had good support, with “second” floating, and with “third” in the text in 14:9, one could possibly see δεύτερος as a motivated reading. But without sufficient support for the third reading, the one thing that is most certain is that δεύτερος was part of the original text here.) It is difficult to account for the rise of the other readings if “second” is not original. And the undisputed use of “third” (τρίτος, tritos) in 14:9 may be another indicator that the adjective “second” was in the original text. Finally, the fourth reading is the more difficult and therefore, in this case, to be accepted as the progenitor of the others.

⁷ tn Grk “And another angel, a second.”

⁸ tn The words “the first” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁹ tn For the translation of λέγω (legw) as “declare,” see BDAG 590 s.v. 2.e.

¹⁰ sn The fall of Babylon the great city is described in detail in Rev 18:2-24.

¹¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

¹² tn Grk “of the wine of the passion of the sexual immorality of her.” Here τῆς πορνείας (th" porneia") has been translated as an attributive genitive. In an ironic twist of fate, God will make Babylon drink her own mixture, but it will become the wine of his wrath in retribution for her immoral deeds (see the note on the word “wrath” in 16:19).

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁴ tn Or “of the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

¹⁵ tn Grk “fell.”

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Babylon’s misdeeds (see Rev 14:8).

¹⁷ tn Grk “the cup of the wine of the anger of the wrath of him.” The concatenation of four genitives has been rendered somewhat differently by various translations (see the note on the word “wrath”).

¹⁸ tn Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumo") and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9). Thus in Rev 14:8 (to which the present passage alludes) and 18:3 there is irony: The wine of immoral behavior with which Babylon makes the nations drunk becomes the wine of God’s wrath for her.

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁰ tn Some translations consider the word μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) a part of the name written (“Mystery Babylon the Great,” so KJV, NIV), but the gender of both ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) and μυστήριον are neuter, while the gender of “Babylon” is feminine. This strongly suggests that μυστήριον should be understood as an appositive to ὄνομα (“a name, i.e., a mystery”).

²¹ tn Grk “And.” Because this remark is somewhat resumptive in nature, “as for” is used in the translation.

²² tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

²³ tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”

²⁴ tn Heb “and Babylon…will be like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah.” On מַהְפֵּכַת (mahpekhat, “overthrow”) see the note on the word “destruction” in 1:7.

²⁵ tn Or “[with] teams of horses,” or perhaps, “with a pair of horsemen.”

²⁶ tn Heb “and he answered and said” (so KJV, ASV).

²⁷ tn The verbs in this verse and the following are all in the Hebrew perfect tense, a tense that often refers to a past action or a past action with present results. However, as the translator’s notes have indicated, the prophets use this tense to view the actions as if they were as good as done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The stance here is ideal, viewed as already accomplished.

²⁸ tn Or “wrote.”

²⁹ tn Or “disaster”; or “calamity.”

³⁰ tn Heb “words” (or “things”).

³¹ tn Heb “see [that].”

³² tn Heb “words” (or “things”).

³³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.

³⁴ tn Or “disaster”; or “calamity.”

³⁵ sn The final chapter of the book of Jeremiah does not mention Jeremiah or record any of his prophecies.