Discovery BoxRevelation 18:10-15 
Context18:10 They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say,
“Woe, woe, O great city,
Babylon the powerful city!
For in a single hour your doom 1 has come!”
18:11 Then 2 the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo 3 any longer – 18:12 cargo such as gold, silver, 4 precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, 5 scarlet cloth, 6 all sorts of things made of citron wood, 7 all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 18:13 cinnamon, spice, 8 incense, perfumed ointment, 9 frankincense, 10 wine, olive oil and costly flour, 11 wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, 12 slaves and human lives. 13
18:14 (The ripe fruit 14 you greatly desired 15
has gone from you,
and all your luxury 16 and splendor 17
have gone from you –
they will never ever be found again!) 18
18:15 The merchants who sold 19 these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep 20 and mourn,
1 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.”
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
3 tn On γόμος (gomos) BDAG 205 s.v. states, “load, freight…cargo of a ship…Ac 21:3. W. gen. of the owner Rv 18:11. W. gen. of content…γ. χρυσοῦ a cargo of gold vs. 12.”
4 tn Grk “and silver,” but καί (kai) has not been translated before most of these terms since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more
5 tn On this term BDAG 924-25 s.v. σιρικός states, “per. to silk from Ser, subst. τὸ σιρικόν silk cloth or garments w. other costly materials Rv 18:12.”
6 tn On the translation of κόκκινον (kokkinon) as “scarlet cloth” see L&N 6.170.
7 tn On the phrase πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον (pan xulon quinon) L&N 3.63 states, “pertaining to being made or consisting of citron wood (that is, from a citron tree) – ‘of citron wood.’ καὶ πᾶν ξύλον θύϊνον καὶ πᾶν σκεῦος ἐλεφάντινον ‘and all kinds of things made of citron wood and all kinds of objects made of ivory’ Re 18:12. The citron tree belongs to the citrus family of plants, and it produces a pale yellow fruit somewhat larger than a lemon, the rind of which is often candied. In Re 18:12, however, the focus is upon the fine quality of the wood.”
8 tn On the term ἄμωμον (amwmon) L&N 5.23 states, “a generic term for any kind of spice, though often a specific reference to amomum, an Indian type of spice – ‘spice, amomum.’ κιννάμωμον καὶ ἄμωμον καὶ θυμιάματα ‘cinnamon and spice and incense’ Re 18:13. In most translations ἄμωμον is interpreted as spice in general.”
9 tn Or “myrrh,” a strong aromatic ointment often used to prepare a body for burial (L&N 6.205).
10 tn The Greek term λίβανος (libano") refers to the aromatic resin of a certain type of tree (L&N 6.212).
11 tn On σεμίδαλις (semidali") L&N 5.10 states, “a fine grade of wheat flour – ‘fine flour.’ οἶνον καὶ ἔλαιον καὶ σεμίδαλιν καὶ σῖτον ‘wine and oil and fine flour and wheat’ Re 18:13. In some languages ‘fine flour’ may be best expressed as ‘expensive flour.’ Such a rendering fits well the context of Re 18:13.”
12 tn Or “and wagons.” On the term ῥέδη (rJedh) see L&N 6.53: “a four-wheeled carriage or wagon used for travel or the transportation of loads – ‘carriage, wagon.’ The term ῥέδη occurs only in Re 18:13 in a list of products bought and sold by merchants.”
13 tn Grk “and bodies and souls of men.” This could be understood (1) as a hendiadys (two things mentioned = one thing meant), referring only to slave trade; (2) it could be referring to two somewhat different concepts: slavery (bodies) and the cheapness of human life – some of the items earlier in the list of merchandise were to be obtained only at great cost of human life; or (3) a somewhat related idea, that the trade is in not just physical bodies (slavery) but human souls (people whose lives are destroyed through this trade).
14 tn On ὀπώρα (opwra) L&N 3.34 states, “ἡ ὀπώρα σου τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ψυχῆς ‘the ripe fruit for which you longed’ Re 18:14. In this one occurrence of ὀπώρα in the NT, ‘ripe fruit’ is to be understood in a figurative sense of ‘good things.’”
15 tn Grk “you desired in your soul.”
16 tn On λιπαρός (liparo") BDAG 597 s.v. states, “luxury Rv 18:14.”
17 tn On τὰ λαμπρά (ta lampra) BDAG 585 s.v. λαμπρός 4 states, “splendor…in which a rich man takes delight (cp. Jos., Ant. 12, 220 δωρεὰς δοὺς λαμπράς) Rv 18:14.”
18 tn Verse 14 is set in parentheses because in it the city, Babylon, is addressed directly in second person.
sn This verse forms a parenthetical aside in the narrative.
19 tn Grk “the merchants [sellers] of these things.”
20 tn Grk “her torment, weeping.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation by supplying the words “They will” here.
