Revelation 18:18-21

18:18 and began to shout ¹  when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up, ²  “Who is like the great city?” 18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, ³ 

“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!” ⁴ 

18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,

and you saints and apostles and prophets,

for God has pronounced judgment ⁵  against her on your behalf!) ⁶ 

18:21 Then ⁷  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 ⁸ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ⁹ 

and it will never be found again!

[18:18]  ¹ tn Here the imperfect ἔκραζον (ekrazon) has been translated ingressively.

[18:18]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.”

[18:20]  ⁵ tn On the phrase “pronounced judgment” BDAG 567 s.v. κρίμα 4.b states, “The OT is the source of the expr. κρίνειν τὸ κρ. (cp. Zech 7:9; 8:16; Ezk 44:24) ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς God has pronounced judgment for you against her or God has pronounced on her the judgment she wished to impose on you (HHoltzmann, Hdb. 1893 ad loc.) Rv 18:20.”

[18:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “God has judged a judgment of you of her.” Verse 20 is set in parentheses because in it the saints, etc. are addressed directly in the second person.

[18:21]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ⁸ 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.

[18:21]  ⁹ 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.