“Woe, woe, O great city,
Babylon the powerful city!
For in a single hour your doom 5 has come!”
18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!” 6
And every ship’s captain, 7 and all who sail along the coast 8 – seamen, and all who 9 make their living from the sea, stood a long way off
“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!” 11
1 tn Grk “For this reason, her plagues will come.”
2 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).
3 tn This is the same Greek word (πένθος, penqo") translated “grief” in vv. 7-8.
4 tn Here “burned down” was used to translate κατακαυθήσεται (katakauqhsetai) because a city is in view.
5 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.”
6 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.”
7 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.”
8 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).”
9 tn Grk “and as many as.”
10 tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.
11 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.”