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 18:17

18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” ² 

And every ship’s captain, ³  and all who sail along the coast ⁴  – seamen, and all who ⁵  make their living from the sea, stood a long way off

Revelation 18:19

18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, ⁶ 

“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!” ⁷ 

Isaiah 47:9-11

47:9 Both of these will come upon you

suddenly, in one day!

You will lose your children and be widowed. ⁸ 

You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, ⁹ 

despite ¹⁰  your many incantations

and your numerous amulets. ¹¹ 

47:10 You were complacent in your evil deeds; ¹² 

you thought, ¹³  ‘No one sees me.’

Your self-professed ¹⁴  wisdom and knowledge lead you astray,

when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ ¹⁵ 

47:11 Disaster will overtake you;

you will not know how to charm it away. ¹⁶ 

Destruction will fall on you;

you will not be able to appease it.

Calamity will strike you suddenly,

before you recognize it. ¹⁷ 

Jeremiah 51:6

51:6 Get out of Babylonia quickly, you foreign people. ¹⁸ 

Flee to save your lives.

Do not let yourselves be killed because of her sins.

For it is time for the Lord to wreak his revenge.

He will pay Babylonia ¹⁹  back for what she has done. ²⁰ 

[18:10]  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.”

[18:17]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Grk “and as many as.”

[18:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.”

[47:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.

[47:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”

[47:9]  ¹⁰ tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.

[47:9]  ¹¹ sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.

[47:10]  ¹² tn Heb “you trusted in your evil”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “wickedness.”

[47:10]  ¹³ tn Or “said”; NAB “said to yourself”’ NASB “said in your heart.”

[47:10]  ¹⁴ tn The words “self-professed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[47:10]  ¹⁵ tn See the note at v. 8.

[47:11]  ¹⁶ tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.

[47:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”

[51:6]  ¹⁸ tn The words “you foreign people” are not in the text and many think the referent is the exiles of Judah. While this is clearly the case in v. 45 the referent seems broader here where the context speaks of every man going to his own country (v. 9).

[51:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “her.”

[51:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “paying to her a recompense [i.e., a payment in kind].”