“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!” 13
18:21 Then 14 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 15
Babylon the great city will be thrown down 16
and it will never be found again!
1 tc The shorter reading adopted here has superior ms support (א A C P 2053 al latt co), while the inclusion of “your works and” (τὰ ἔργα σου καί, ta erga sou kai) before “where you reside” is supported by the Byzantine witnesses and is evidently a secondary attempt to harmonize the passage with 2:2, 19; 3:1, 8, 15.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Yet” to indicate the contrast between their location and their faithful behavior.
3 tn The present indicative verb κρατεῖς (kratei") has been translated as a progressive present.
4 tn Grk “the faith”; here the Greek article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
5 tn Grk “the faith of me” (τὴν πίστιν μου, thn pistin mou) with the genitive “of me” (μου) functioning objectively.
6 tn Or “martyr.” The Greek word μάρτυς can mean either “witness” or “martyr.”
7 tn Grk “killed among you.” The term “city” does not occur in the Greek text of course, but the expression παρ᾿ ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ (par’ Jumin, {opou Jo satana" katoikei) seems to indicate that this is what is meant. See G. B. Caird, Revelation (HNTC), 36-38.
8 tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”
9 tn Grk “I will make him,” but the pronoun (αὐτόν, auton, “him”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
11 sn This description of the city of my God is parenthetical, explaining further the previous phrase and interrupting the list of “new names” given here.
12 tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.
13 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.”
14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
15 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.
16 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.
17 tn Grk “its”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).
19 tn Grk “From here and from there.”
20 tn Or “twelve crops” (one for each month of the year).
21 tn The words “of the year” are implied.