Revelation 18:7-11

18:7 As much as ¹  she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, ²  to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, ³  ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’ 18:8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues ⁴  in a single day: disease, ⁵  mourning, ⁶  and famine, and she will be burned down ⁷  with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”

18:9 Then ⁸  the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury ⁹  with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up. 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 ¹¹  has come!”

18:11 Then ¹²  the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo ¹³  any longer –

¹ tn “As much as” is the translation of ὅσα (Josa).

² tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”

³ tn Grk “said in her heart,” an idiom for saying something to oneself.

⁴ tn Grk “For this reason, her plagues will come.”

⁵ tn Grk “death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

⁶ tn This is the same Greek word (πένθος, penqo") translated “grief” in vv. 7-8.

⁷ tn Here “burned down” was used to translate κατακαυθήσεται (katakauqhsetai) because a city is in view.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

⁹ tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “from the burning of her.” For the translation “the smoke from the fire that burns her up,” see L&N 14.63.

¹¹ 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.”

¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹³ 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.”