Revelation 18:21-22

18:21 Then ¹  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 ² 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ³ 

and it will never be found again!

18:22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,

flute players, and trumpeters

will never be heard in you ⁴  again.

No ⁵  craftsman ⁶  who practices any trade

will ever be found in you again;

the noise of a mill ⁷  will never be heard in you again.

[18:21]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[18:22]  ⁴ tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.

[18:22]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:22]  ⁶ tn On this term BDAG 1001 s.v. τεχνίτης states, “craftsperson, artisan, designer…Of a silversmith Ac 19:24, 25 v.l., 38….Of a potter 2 Cl 8:2 (metaph., cp. Ath. 15:2). πᾶς τεχνίτης πάσης τέχνης Rv 18:22.”

[18:22]  ⁷ tn This is a different Greek word (μύλος, mulos) from the one for the millstone in v. 21 (μύλινος, mulinos). See L&N 7.68.