“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,^a will stand far off.^b ¹⁸When they see the smoke of her burning,^c they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city^d?’^e ¹⁹They will throw dust on their heads,^f and with weeping and mourning^g cry out:

“ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,^h

where all who had ships on the sea

became rich through her wealth!

In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ⁱ

²⁰“Rejoice over her, you heavens!^j

Rejoice, you people of God!

Rejoice, apostles and prophets!

For God has judged her

with the judgment she imposed on you.”^k

The Finality of Babylon’s Doom

²¹Then a mighty angel^l picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea,^m and said:

“With such violence

the great cityⁿ of Babylon will be thrown down,

never to be found again.

Read in Logos

Cross references

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Alas, alas, for the great city

that was clothed in fine linen,

in purple and scarlet,

adorned with gold,

with jewels, and with pearls!

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.

Rejoice over her, O heaven,

and you saints and apostles and prophets,

for God has given judgment for you against her!”

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,

and will be found no more;

CSBChristian Standard Bible

saying,

Woe, woe, the great city,

dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,

adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls;

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.

Rejoice over her, heaven,

and you saints, apostles, and prophets,

because God has pronounced on her the judgment she passed on you!

Then a mighty angel picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

In this way, Babylon the great city

will be thrown down violently

and never be found again.

NLTNew Living Translation

“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!

She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,

decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!

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.”

Rejoice over her fate, O heaven

and people of God and apostles and prophets!

For at last God has judged her

for your sakes.

Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted,

“Just like this, the great city Babylon

will be thrown down with violence

and will never be found again.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

saying,

“Woe, woe, the great city,

dressed in fine linen and purple cloth and scarlet cloth,

and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,

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!”

Rejoice over her, heaven

and the saints and the apostles and the prophets,

because God has pronounced your judgment on her!”

And one powerful angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“In this way Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence,

and will never be found again!

KJV 1900King James Version

And saying,

Alas, alas, that great city,

That was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet,

And decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

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.

Rejoice over her, thou heaven,

And ye holy apostles and prophets;

For God hath avenged you on her.

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,

Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Public Domain