Revelation 18
The full text of Revelation 18 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.
2 With a mighty voice he cried out:
"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!
She has become a home for demons,
a haunt for every impure spirit,
a haunt for every impure bird,
a haunt for every impure and detestable beast.
3 For all the nations have drunk
the wine of the passion of her immorality.
The kings of the earth committed immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxury."
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
"Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues.
5 For her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.
6 Pay her back as she has paid others;
pay her back double for what she has done.
In her own cup, mix her a double portion.
7 Give her as much torment and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
In her heart she boasts,
'I sit enthroned as queen.
I am no widow; I will never mourn.'
8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her:
death and grief and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
9 When the kings of the earth who committed immorality with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.
10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry:
"Woe! Woe to you, great city,
Babylon, you mighty city!
In one hour your judgment has come."
11 The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo anymore -
12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;
13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human bodies and souls.
14 "The fruit you longed for has gone from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be found again."
15 The merchants who sold these things and grew rich from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn
16 and cry out:
"Woe! Woe to you, great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
17 In one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!"
Every sea captain, everyone who travels by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea will stand far off.
18 When they see the smoke of her burning, they will cry out, "Was there ever a city like this great city?"
19 They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out:
"Woe! Woe to you, great city,
where all who had ships on the sea
became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been laid waste!"
20 "Rejoice over her, you heavens!
Rejoice, you holy people, apostles and prophets!
God has judged her for the way she treated you."
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:
"With such violence
the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
never to be found again.
22 "The music of harpists and musicians,
flute players and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
No craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 "The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the great ones of the earth.
By your sorcery all the nations were led astray.
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and of God's holy people,
and of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.
Translation notes (12)
- Revelation 18:2a Some manuscripts do not include the final line, 'a haunt for every impure and detestable beast.'
- Revelation 18:4a The imperative exelthate, 'come out' (ἐξέλθατε), and the vocative ho laos mou, 'my people' (ὁ λαός μου), echo the Septuagint's calls to leave Babylon (Isaiah 52:11; Jeremiah 50:8; 51:6, 45). The verb synkoinoneō, 'share in' (συγκοινωνέω), casts separation as refusal of participation; the paired hina clauses express purpose.
- Revelation 18:5a The Greek verb ekollethesan, 'were glued together', pictures Babylon's sins adhering to one another until the heap reaches heaven, hence 'piled up'. The image echoes Jeremiah 51:9, where Babylon's judgment 'reaches to the heavens', continuing this chapter's sustained borrowing from the prophetic oracles against Babylon.
- Revelation 18:6a The Greek doubles its own verb: diplōsate ta dipla, literally 'double the doubles', an emphatic form of the retribution formula spoken against Babylon in Jeremiah 50:29 and Psalm 137:8. The cup she mixed recalls the cup of God's wrath in Jeremiah 25:15, here turned back upon the one who served it.
- Revelation 18:7a Babylon's boast echoes Isaiah 47:7-8, where ancient Babylon says, 'I shall be mistress forever... I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children.' The Greek kathēmai basilissa (κάθημαι βασίλισσα), 'I sit as queen', deliberately recalls that taunt, casting Rome as the new Babylon awaiting the same sudden judgment.
- Revelation 18:12a The Greek phrase xylon thyinon (ξύλον θύϊνον), rendered here as 'citron wood', likely refers to the fragrant wood of the North African sandarac tree, highly prized in the Roman world for furniture and luxury items. The specific list of commodities reflects the extensive luxury trade of the Roman Empire.
- Revelation 18:13a The last items listed literally read 'bodies, and souls of human beings,' which refers to slaves. This wording exposes the human trafficking among the cargo.
- Revelation 18:20a The Greek literally reads, euphrainou ep' aute, ourane, 'rejoice over her, heaven'. The phrase 'holy people' translates hoi hagioi, 'the saints', referring to all believers. The apostles and prophets are here joined as categories of those persecuted by the great city.
- Revelation 18:21a The angel's act reenacts Jeremiah 51:63-64, where Seraiah is commanded to tie a stone to a scroll and cast it into the Euphrates, declaring that Babylon will sink and rise no more. Greek hormemati (ὁρμήματι), 'with violence', denotes a single violent rush, underscoring the suddenness and finality of the city's fall.
- Revelation 18:22a The silenced millstone, with the lamp and wedding voices of the following verse, echoes Jeremiah 25:10, where the same sounds cease in a Judah judged by Babylon; here the judgment falls on Babylon itself. The refrain ou me ... eti (οὐ μὴ ... ἔτι), 'never again', is Greek's most emphatic negation, sounded six times across verses 21 through 23.
- Revelation 18:23a Pharmakeia (φαρμακεία), rendered here as 'sorcery', derives from pharmakon, 'drug' or 'potion', and denotes magic practiced through drugs and enchantments; the English word pharmacy shares this root. The term appears in Galatians 5:20 among the works of the flesh and suggests Babylon's deception of the nations was a beguiling, intoxicating enchantment rather than mere trickery.
- Revelation 18:24a The Greek phrase panton ton esphagmenon epi tēs gēs, 'of all who have been slaughtered on the earth', uses the verb sphazō, which is also used to describe the Lamb of God as having been slain.
About this translation
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