Revelation 18:4-8

18:4 Then ¹  I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, 18:5 because her sins have piled ²  up all the way to heaven ³  and God has remembered ⁴  her crimes. ⁵  18:6 Repay her the same way she repaid others; ⁶  pay her back double ⁷  corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her. 18:7 As much as ⁸  she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, ⁹  to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, ¹⁰  ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’ 18:8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues ¹¹  in a single day: disease, ¹²  mourning, ¹³  and famine, and she will be burned down ¹⁴  with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”

Revelation 18:20-24

18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,

and you saints and apostles and prophets,

for God has pronounced judgment ¹⁵  against her on your behalf!) ¹⁶ 

18:21 Then ¹⁷  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 ¹⁸ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ¹⁹ 

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 ²⁰  again.

No ²¹  craftsman ²²  who practices any trade

will ever be found in you again;

the noise of a mill ²³  will never be heard in you again.

18:23 Even the light from a lamp

will never shine in you again!

The voices of the bridegroom and his bride

will never be heard in you again.

For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,

because all the nations ²⁴  were deceived by your magic spells! ²⁵ 

18:24 The ²⁶  blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, ²⁷ 

along with the blood ²⁸  of all those who had been killed on the earth.”

[18:4]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:5]  ² tn On ἐκολλήθησαν (ekollhqhsan) BDAG 556 s.v. κολλάω 2.a.β states, “fig. cling to = come in close contact with (cp. Ps 21:16; 43:26 ἐκολλήθη εἰς γῆν ἡ γαστὴρ ἡμῶν. The act.=‘bring into contact’ PGM 5, 457 κολλήσας τ. λίθον τῷ ὠτίῳ) ἐκολλήθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἄχρι τ. οὐρανοῦ the sins have touched the heaven = reached the sky (two exprs. are telescoped) Rv 18:5.”

[18:5]  ³ tn Or “up to the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[18:5]  ⁴ tn That is, remembered her sins to execute judgment on them.

[18:5]  ⁵ tn Or “her sins.”

[18:6]  ⁶ tn The word “others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:6]  ⁷ tn On this term BDAG 252 s.v. διπλόω states, “to double τὰ διπλᾶ pay back double Rv 18:6.”

[18:7]  ⁸ tn “As much as” is the translation of ὅσα (Josa).

[18:7]  ⁹ tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”

[18:7]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “said in her heart,” an idiom for saying something to oneself.

[18:8]  ¹¹ tn Grk “For this reason, her plagues will come.”

[18:8]  ¹² tn Grk “death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[18:8]  ¹³ tn This is the same Greek word (πένθος, penqo") translated “grief” in vv. 7-8.

[18:8]  ¹⁴ tn Here “burned down” was used to translate κατακαυθήσεται (katakauqhsetai) because a city is in view.

[18:20]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn The shift to a second person pronoun here corresponds to the Greek text.

[18:22]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:22]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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.

[18:23]  ²⁴ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[18:23]  ²⁵ tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”

[18:24]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[18:24]  ²⁷ tn The shift in pronouns from second to third person corresponds to the Greek text.

[18:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and of all.” The phrase “along with the blood” has been repeated from the previous clause for stylistic reasons.