“Every sea captain and all who travel by ship will stand far away. So will the sailors and all who earn their living from the sea. ¹⁸They will see the smoke rising as Babylon burns. They will ask, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ ¹⁹They will throw dust on their heads. They will cry and be sad. They will cry out,

“ ‘How terrible! How terrible it is for you, great city!

All who had ships on the sea

became rich because of her wealth!

In just one hour she has been destroyed!

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In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”

And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

“What city was like the great city?”

And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city

where all who had ships at sea

grew rich by her wealth!

For in a single hour she has been laid waste.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea, will stand far off. When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 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 brought to ruin!’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

for in a single hour

such fabulous wealth was destroyed!

And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out, “Who was like the great city?” They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning,

Woe, woe, the great city,

where all those who have ships on the sea

became rich from her wealth;

for in a single hour she was destroyed.

NLTNew Living Translation

In a single moment

all the wealth of the city is gone!”

And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance. They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?” And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,

“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!

The shipowners became wealthy

by transporting her great wealth on the seas.

In a single moment it is all gone.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

because in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!”

And every shipmaster and every seafarer and sailors and all those who labor on the sea stood far off and began to cry out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “Who is like the great city?” And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,

in which all those who had ships on the sea

became rich from her prosperity,

because in one hour she has been laid waste!”

KJV 1900King James Version

For in one hour so great riches is come to nought.

And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships,

And sailors, and as many as trade by sea,

Stood afar off, And cried

When they saw the smoke of her burning, saying,

What city is like unto this great city!

And they cast dust on their heads,

And cried, weeping and wailing, saying,

Alas, alas, that great city,

Wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness!

For in one hour is she made desolate.

Public Domain