Jeremiah 49:25

49:25 How deserted will that once-famous city ¹  be,

that city that was once filled with ²  joy! ³ 

Jeremiah 50:23

50:23 Babylon hammered the whole world to pieces.

But see how that ‘hammer’ has been broken and shattered! ⁴ 

See what an object of horror

Babylon has become among the nations!

Isaiah 13:19

13:19 Babylon, the most admired ⁵  of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride, ⁶ 

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were. ⁷ 

Isaiah 14:4

14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: ⁸ 

“Look how the oppressor has met his end!

Hostility ⁹  has ceased!

Daniel 2:38

2:38 Wherever human beings, ¹⁰  wild animals, ¹¹  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ¹²  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 4:22

4:22 it is you, ¹³  O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth.

Daniel 4:30

4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ¹⁴  by my own mighty strength ¹⁵  and for my majestic honor?”

Daniel 5:4-5

5:4 As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ¹⁶  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ¹⁷  The king was watching the back ¹⁸  of the hand that was writing.

Revelation 18:10-19

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 ¹⁹  has come!”

18:11 Then ²⁰  the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo ²¹  any longer – 18:12 cargo such as gold, silver, ²²  precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, ²³  scarlet cloth, ²⁴  all sorts of things made of citron wood, ²⁵  all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 18:13 cinnamon, spice, ²⁶  incense, perfumed ointment, ²⁷  frankincense, ²⁸  wine, olive oil and costly flour, ²⁹  wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, ³⁰  slaves and human lives. ³¹ 

18:14 (The ripe fruit ³²  you greatly desired ³³ 

has gone from you,

and all your luxury ³⁴  and splendor ³⁵ 

have gone from you –

they will never ever be found again!) ³⁶ 

18:15 The merchants who sold ³⁷  these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep ³⁸  and mourn, 18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city –

dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, ³⁹ 

and adorned with gold, ⁴⁰  precious stones, and pearls –

18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” ⁴¹ 

And every ship’s captain, ⁴²  and all who sail along the coast ⁴³  – seamen, and all who ⁴⁴  make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18:18 and began to shout ⁴⁵  when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up, ⁴⁶  “Who is like the great city?” 18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, ⁴⁷ 

“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!” ⁴⁸ 

[49:25]  ¹ tn Heb “city of praise.”

[49:25]  ² tn Heb “city of joy.”

[49:25]  ³ tc Or “Why has that famous city not been abandoned, that city I once took delight in?” The translation follows the majority of modern commentaries in understanding לֹא (lo’, “not”) before “abandoned” as a misunderstanding of the emphatic ל (lamed; so J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 723, n. 3, and J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 333, n. c; see also IBHS 211-12 §11.2.10i and HALOT 485-86 s.v. II לְ for the phenomenon). The particle is missing from the Vulgate. The translation also follows the versions in omitting the suffix on the word “joy” that is found in the Hebrew text (see BHS note b for a listing of the versions). This gives a better connection with the preceding and the following verse than the alternate translation.

[50:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “How broken and shattered is the hammer of all the earth!” The “hammer” is a metaphor for Babylon who was God’s war club to shatter the nations and destroy kingdoms just like Assyria is represented in Isa 10:5 as a rod and a war club. Some readers, however, might not pick up on the metaphor or identify the referent, so the translation has incorporated an identification of the metaphor and the referent within it. “See how” and “See what” are an attempt to capture the nuance of the Hebrew particle אֵיךְ (’ekh) which here expresses an exclamation of satisfaction in a taunt song (cf. BDB 32 s.v. אֵיךְ 2 and compare usage in Isa 14:4, 12; Jer 50:23).

[13:19]  ⁵ tn Or “most beautiful” (NCV, TEV).

[13:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “the beauty of the pride of the Chaldeans.”

[13:19]  ⁷ 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.

[14:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”

[14:4]  ⁹ tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.

[2:38]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “the sons of man.”

[2:38]  ¹¹ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[2:38]  ¹² tn Aram “hand.”

[4:22]  ¹³ sn Much of modern scholarship views this chapter as a distortion of traditions that were originally associated with Nabonidus rather than with Nebuchadnezzar. A Qumran text, the Prayer of Nabonidus, is often cited for parallels to these events.

[4:30]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “house.”

[4:30]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”

[5:5]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ¹⁷ sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ¹⁸ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[18:10]  ¹⁹ 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.”

[18:11]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[18:11]  ²¹ 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.”

[18:12]  ²² 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

[18:12]  ²³ 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.”

[18:12]  ²⁴ tn On the translation of κόκκινον (kokkinon) as “scarlet cloth” see L&N 6.170.

[18:12]  ²⁵ tn On the phrase πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον (pan xulon quinon) 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.”

[18:13]  ²⁶ tn On the term ἄμωμον (amwmon) 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.”

[18:13]  ²⁷ tn Or “myrrh,” a strong aromatic ointment often used to prepare a body for burial (L&N 6.205).

[18:13]  ²⁸ tn The Greek term λίβανος (libano") refers to the aromatic resin of a certain type of tree (L&N 6.212).

[18:13]  ²⁹ tn On σεμίδαλις (semidali") 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.”

[18:13]  ³⁰ tn Or “and wagons.” On the term ῥέδη (rJedh) 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.”

[18:13]  ³¹ 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).

[18:14]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Grk “you desired in your soul.”

[18:14]  ³⁴ tn On λιπαρός (liparo") BDAG 597 s.v. states, “luxury Rv 18:14.”

[18:14]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Verse 14 is set in parentheses because in it the city, Babylon, is addressed directly in second person.

[18:15]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the merchants [sellers] of these things.”

[18:15]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

[18:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

[18:17]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “and as many as.”

[18:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Here the imperfect ἔκραζον (ekrazon) has been translated ingressively.

[18:18]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[18:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

[18:19]  ⁴⁸ tn On ἡρημώθη (Jhrhmwqh) 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.”