Genesis 29:1-35

The Marriages of Jacob

29:1 So Jacob moved on ¹  and came to the land of the eastern people. ²  29:2 He saw ³  in the field a well with ⁴  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ⁵  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ⁶  would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.

29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson ⁷  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ⁸  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ⁹  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ¹⁰  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ¹¹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ¹²  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ¹³  29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ¹⁴  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ¹⁵  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ¹⁶  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ¹⁷  went over ¹⁸  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ¹⁹  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ²⁰  29:12 When Jacob explained ²¹  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ²²  and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob ²³  told Laban how he was related to him. ²⁴  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ²⁵  So Jacob ²⁶  stayed with him for a month. ²⁷ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ²⁸  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ²⁹  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ³⁰  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ³¹  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ³²  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ³³  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. ³⁴  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ³⁵  But they seemed like only a few days to him ³⁶  because his love for her was so great. ³⁷ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ³⁸  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ³⁹  I want to have marital relations with her.” ⁴⁰  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ⁴¹  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ⁴²  to Jacob, ⁴³  and Jacob ⁴⁴  had marital relations with her. ⁴⁵  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ⁴⁶ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ⁴⁷  So Jacob ⁴⁸  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ⁴⁹  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ⁵⁰  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ⁵¹  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ⁵²  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ⁵³  Then we will give you the younger one ⁵⁴  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ⁵⁵ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ⁵⁶  When Jacob ⁵⁷  completed Leah’s bridal week, ⁵⁸  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ⁵⁹  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ⁶⁰  29:30 Jacob ⁶¹  had marital relations ⁶²  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ⁶³  for seven more years. ⁶⁴ 

The Family of Jacob

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ⁶⁵  he enabled her to become pregnant ⁶⁶  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ⁶⁷  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ⁶⁸  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ⁶⁹  Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ⁷⁰  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ⁷¹ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ⁷²  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ⁷³ 

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ⁷⁴  Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 16:16

16:16 (Now ⁷⁵  Abram was 86 years old ⁷⁶  when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) ⁷⁷ 

Genesis 16:1

The Birth of Ishmael

16:1 Now Sarai, ⁷⁸  Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, ⁷⁹  but she had an Egyptian servant ⁸⁰  named Hagar. ⁸¹ 

Genesis 16:1

The Birth of Ishmael

16:1 Now Sarai, ⁸²  Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, ⁸³  but she had an Egyptian servant ⁸⁴  named Hagar. ⁸⁵ 

Jeremiah 13:22

13:22 You will probably ask yourself, ⁸⁶ 

‘Why have these things happened to me?

Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress

whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ ⁸⁷ 

It is because you have sinned so much. ⁸⁸ 

Hosea 2:3

2:3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked,

and expose her like she was when she was born.

I will turn her land into a wilderness

and make her country a parched land,

so that I might kill ⁸⁹  her with thirst.

Hosea 2:9-10

2:9 Therefore, I will take back ⁹⁰  my grain during the harvest time ⁹¹ 

and my new wine when it ripens; ⁹² 

I will take away my wool and my flax

which I had provided ⁹³  in order to clothe her. ⁹⁴ 

2:10 Soon ⁹⁵  I will expose her lewd nakedness ⁹⁶  in front of her lovers,

and no one will be able to rescue her from me! ⁹⁷ 

Revelation 17:16

17:16 The ⁹⁸  ten horns that you saw, and the beast – these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They ⁹⁹  will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. ¹⁰⁰ 

Revelation 18:14-17

18:14 (The ripe fruit ¹⁰¹  you greatly desired ¹⁰² 

has gone from you,

and all your luxury ¹⁰³  and splendor ¹⁰⁴ 

have gone from you –

they will never ever be found again!) ¹⁰⁵ 

18:15 The merchants who sold ¹⁰⁶  these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep ¹⁰⁷  and mourn, 18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city –

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, ¹⁰⁸ 

and adorned with gold, ¹⁰⁹  precious stones, and pearls –

18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” ¹¹⁰ 

And every ship’s captain, ¹¹¹  and all who sail along the coast ¹¹²  – seamen, and all who ¹¹³  make their living from the sea, stood a long way off

[29:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his feet.” This unusual expression suggests that Jacob had a new lease on life now that God had promised him the blessing he had so desperately tried to gain by his own efforts. The text portrays him as having a new step in his walk.

[29:1]  ² tn Heb “the land of the sons of the east.”

[29:2]  ³ tn Heb “and he saw, and look.” As in Gen 28:12-15, the narrator uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) here and in the next clause to draw the reader into the story.

[29:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and look, there.”

[29:2]  ⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (introduced by the noun with the prefixed conjunction) provides supplemental information that is important to the story.

[29:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the shepherds) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “son.”

[29:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “and they said, ‘We know.’” The word “him” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the translation several introductory clauses throughout this section have been placed after the direct discourse they introduce for stylistic reasons as well.

[29:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he said to them, ‘Is there peace to him?’”

[29:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “peace.”

[29:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:7]  ¹² tn Heb “the day is great.”

[29:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “water the sheep and go and pasture [them].” The verbal forms are imperatives, but Jacob would hardly be giving direct orders to someone else’s shepherds. The nuance here is probably one of advice.

[29:8]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect verbal forms with the vav (ו) consecutive carry on the sequence begun by the initial imperfect form.

[29:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “was a shepherdess.”

[29:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother” (twice in this verse).

[29:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Jacob.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “drew near, approached.”

[29:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Laban, the brother of his mother.” The text says nothing initially about the beauty of Rachel. But the reader is struck by the repetition of “Laban the brother of his mother.” G. J. Wenham is no doubt correct when he observes that Jacob’s primary motive at this stage is to ingratiate himself with Laban (Genesis [WBC], 2:231).

[29:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he lifted up his voice and wept.” The idiom calls deliberate attention to the fact that Jacob wept out loud.

[29:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “declared.”

[29:12]  ²² tn Heb “that he [was] the brother of her father.”

[29:13]  ²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he told to Laban all these things.” This might mean Jacob told Laban how he happened to be there, but Laban’s response (see v. 14) suggests “all these things” refers to what Jacob had previously told Rachel (see v. 12).

[29:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “indeed, my bone and my flesh are you.” The expression sounds warm enough, but the presence of “indeed” may suggest that Laban had to be convinced of Jacob’s identity before permitting him to stay. To be one’s “bone and flesh” is to be someone’s blood relative. For example, the phrase describes the relationship between Abimelech and the Shechemites (Judg 9:2; his mother was a Shechemite); David and the Israelites (2 Sam 5:1); David and the elders of Judah (2 Sam 19:12,); and David and his nephew Amasa (2 Sam 19:13, see 2 Sam 17:2; 1 Chr 2:16-17).

[29:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “a month of days.”

[29:15]  ²⁸ tn The verb is the perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; the nuance in the question is deliberative.

[29:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my brother.” The term “brother” is used in a loose sense; actually Jacob was Laban’s nephew.

[29:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and to Laban [there were] two daughters.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a prepositional phrase) provides supplemental material that is important to the story. Since this material is parenthetical in nature, vv. 16-17 have been set in parentheses in the translation.

[29:17]  ³¹ tn Heb “and the eyes of Leah were tender.” The disjunctive clause (introduced here by a conjunction and a noun) continues the parenthesis begun in v. 16. It is not clear what is meant by “tender” (or “delicate”) eyes. The expression may mean she had appealing eyes (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT), though some suggest that they were plain, not having the brightness normally expected. Either way, she did not measure up to her gorgeous sister.

[29:17]  ³² tn Heb “and Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.”

[29:18]  ³³ tn Heb “Jacob loved.”

[29:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Better my giving her to you than my giving her to another man.”

[29:20]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in exchange for Rachel.”

[29:20]  ³⁶ sn But they seemed like only a few days to him. This need not mean that the time passed quickly. More likely it means that the price seemed insignificant when compared to what he was getting in the bargain.

[29:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “because of his love for her.” The words “was so great” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[29:21]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob said.”

[29:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “my days are fulfilled.”

[29:21]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and I will go in to her.” The verb is a cohortative; it may be subordinated to the preceding request, “that I may go in,” or it may be an independent clause expressing his desire. The verb “go in” in this context refers to sexual intercourse (i.e., the consummation of the marriage).

[29:22]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “men.”

[29:23]  ⁴² tn Heb “and it happened in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her.”

[29:23]  ⁴³ tn Heb “to him”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “went in to her.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:24]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and Laban gave to her Zilpah his female servant, to Leah his daughter [for] a servant.” This clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.

[29:25]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and it happened in the morning that look, it was Leah.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[29:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb What is this you have done to me?” The use of the pronoun “this” is enclitic, adding emphasis to the question: “What in the world have you done to me?”

[29:25]  ⁵⁰ sn The Hebrew verb translated tricked here (רָמָה, ramah) is cognate to the noun used in Gen 27:35 to describe Jacob’s deception of Esau. Jacob is discovering that what goes around, comes around. See J. A. Diamond, “The Deception of Jacob: A New Perspective on an Ancient Solution to the Problem,” VT 34 (1984): 211-13.

[29:26]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and Laban said, ‘It is not done so in our place.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:26]  ⁵² tn Heb “to give the younger.” The words “daughter” and “in marriage” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[29:27]  ⁵³ tn Heb “fulfill the period of seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as “my older daughter” for clarity.

[29:27]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “this other one.”

[29:27]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and we will give to you also this one in exchange for labor which you will work with me, still seven other years.”

[29:28]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and Jacob did so.” The words “as Laban said” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[29:28]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “the seven of this one.” The referent of “this one” has been specified in the translation as Leah to avoid confusion with Rachel, mentioned later in the verse.

[29:28]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he gave to him Rachel his daughter for him for a wife.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:29]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his female servant, for her for a servant.”

[29:30]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁶² tn Heb “went in also to Rachel.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse, i.e., the consummation of the marriage.

[29:30]  ⁶³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Laban) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[29:30]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and he loved also Rachel, more than Leah, and he served with him still seven other years.”

[29:31]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “hated.” The rhetorical device of overstatement is used (note v. 30, which says simply that Jacob loved Rachel more than he did Leah) to emphasize that Rachel, as Jacob’s true love and the primary object of his affections, had an advantage over Leah.

[29:31]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “he opened up her womb.”

[29:32]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “Leah conceived” (also in vv. 33, 34, 35).

[29:32]  ⁶⁸ sn The name Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, rÿ’uven) means “look, a son.”

[29:32]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “looked on my affliction.”

[29:33]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “hated.” See the note on the word “unloved” in v. 31.

[29:33]  ⁷¹ sn The name Simeon (שִׁמְעוֹן, shim’on) is derived from the verbal root שָׁמַע (shama’) and means “hearing.” The name is appropriate since it is reminder that the Lord “heard” about Leah’s unloved condition and responded with pity.

[29:34]  ⁷² tn Heb “will be joined to me.”

[29:34]  ⁷³ sn The name Levi (לֵוִי, levi), the precise meaning of which is debated, was appropriate because it sounds like the verb לָוָה (lavah, “to join”), used in the statement recorded earlier in the verse.

[29:35]  ⁷⁴ sn The name Judah (יְהוּדָה, yÿhudah) means “he will be praised” and reflects the sentiment Leah expresses in the statement recorded earlier in the verse. For further discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names ‘Israel’ and ‘Judah’ with an Excursus on the Etymology of Todah and Torah,” JBL 46 (1927): 151-85; and A. R. Millard, “The Meaning of the Name Judah,” ZAW 86 (1974): 216-18.

[16:16]  ⁷⁵ tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.

[16:16]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”

[16:16]  ⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.

[16:1]  ⁷⁸ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.

[16:1]  ⁷⁹ sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.

[16:1]  ⁸⁰ tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.

[16:1]  ⁸¹ sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)

[16:1]  ⁸² tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.

[16:1]  ⁸³ sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.

[16:1]  ⁸⁴ tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.

[16:1]  ⁸⁵ sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)

[13:22]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “say in your heart.”

[13:22]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “Your skirt has been uncovered and your heels have been treated with violence.” This is the generally accepted interpretation of these phrases. See, e.g., BDB 784 s.v. עָקֵב a and HALOT 329 s.v. I חָמַס Nif. The significance of the actions here are part of the metaphor (i.e., personification) of Jerusalem as an adulteress having left her husband and have been explained in the translation for the sake of readers unfamiliar with the metaphor.

[13:22]  ⁸⁸ tn The translation has been restructured to break up a long sentence involving a conditional clause and an elliptical consequential clause. It has also been restructured to define more clearly what “these things” are. The Hebrew text reads: “And if you say, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ Because of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts [= what your skirt covers] have been uncovered and your heels have been treated with violence.”

[2:3]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and kill her with thirst.” The vav prefixed to the verb (וַהֲמִתִּיהָ, vahamittiha) introduces a purpose/result clause: “in order to make her die of thirst” (purpose) or “and thus make her die of thirst” (result).

[2:9]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “I will return and I will take.” The two verbs joined with vav conjunction form a verbal hendiadys in which the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense (GKC 386-87 §120.d, h): אָשׁוּב וְלָקַחְתִּי (’ashuv vÿlaqakhti) means “I will take back.”

[2:9]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “in its time” (so NAB, NRSV).

[2:9]  ⁹² tn Heb “in its season” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:9]  ⁹³ tn The words “which I had provided” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NIV “intended to cover.”

[2:9]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “to cover her nakedness” (so KJV and many other English versions); TEV “for clothing.”

[2:10]  ⁹⁵ tn The particle עַתָּה (’attah) often refers to the imminent or the impending future: “very soon” (BDB 774 s.v. עַתָּה 1.b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).

[2:10]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “her lewdness” (so KJV, NIV); NAB, NRSV “her shame.”

[2:10]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “out of my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “save her from my power.”

[17:16]  ⁹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ⁹⁹ tn A new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:16]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The final clause could also be turned into an adverbial clause of means: “They will consume her flesh by burning her with fire.”

[18:14]  ¹⁰¹ tn On ὀπώρα (opwra) 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.’”

[18:14]  ¹⁰² tn Grk “you desired in your soul.”

[18:14]  ¹⁰³ tn On λιπαρός (liparo") BDAG 597 s.v. states, “luxury Rv 18:14.”

[18:14]  ¹⁰⁴ 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.”

[18:14]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Verse 14 is set in parentheses because in it the city, Babylon, is addressed directly in second person.

[18:15]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Grk “the merchants [sellers] of these things.”

[18:15]  ¹⁰⁷ 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.

[18:16]  ¹⁰⁸ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[18:16]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[18:17]  ¹¹⁰ tn On ἠρημώθη (hrhmwqh) 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.”

[18:17]  ¹¹¹ tn On κυβερνήτης (kubernhth") BDAG 574 s.v. 1 states, “one who is responsible for the management of a ship, shipmaster, lit. Rv 18:17.”

[18:17]  ¹¹² tn Or perhaps, “everyone who sails as a passenger.” On πλέων (plewn) 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).”

[18:17]  ¹¹³ tn Grk “and as many as.”