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The NET Bible®

Revelation 18:18

and began to shout when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up, "Who is like the great city?"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- The Topic Concordance - Judges;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Commerce;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Poetry of the Hebrews;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - City;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Babylon;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Debt, Debtor;   Mourning;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Babylon the Great ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Babel;   Babylon;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Babylon in the New Testament:;   Ships and Boats;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who was like the great city?”
King James Version (1611)
And cryed when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like vnto this great citie?
King James Version
And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
New American Standard Bible
and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What city is like the great city?'
New Century Version
As they saw the smoke from her burning, they cried out loudly, "There was never a city like this great city!"
THE MESSAGE
Doom to the City of Darkness Following this I saw another Angel descend from Heaven. His authority was immense, his glory flooded earth with brightness, his voice thunderous: Ruined, ruined, Great Babylon, ruined! A ghost town for demons is all that's left! A garrison of carrion spirits, garrison of loathsome, carrion birds. All nations drank the wild wine of her whoring; kings of the earth went whoring with her; entrepreneurs made millions exploiting her. Just then I heard another shout out of Heaven: Get out, my people, as fast as you can, so you don't get mixed up in her sins, so you don't get caught in her doom. Her sins stink to high Heaven; God has remembered every evil she's done. Give her back what she's given, double what she's doubled in her works, double the recipe in the cup she mixed; Bring her flaunting and wild ways to torment and tears. Because she gloated, "I'm queen over all, and no widow, never a tear on my face," In one day, disasters will crush her— death, heartbreak, and famine— Then she'll be burned by fire, because God, the Strong God who judges her, has had enough. "The kings of the earth will see the smoke of her burning, and they'll cry and carry on, the kings who went night after night to her brothel. They'll keep their distance for fear they'll get burned, and they'll cry their lament: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! City of Babylon, strong city! In one hour it's over, your judgment come! "The traders will cry and carry on because the bottom dropped out of business, no more market for their goods: gold, silver, precious gems, pearls; fabrics of fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet; perfumed wood and vessels of ivory, precious woods, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon and spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. And slaves—their terrible traffic in human lives. Everything you've lived for, gone! All delicate and delectable luxury, lost! Not a scrap, not a thread to be found! "The traders who made millions off her kept their distance for fear of getting burned, and cried and carried on all the more: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! Dressed in the latest fashions, adorned with the finest jewels, in one hour such wealth wiped out! "All the ship captains and travelers by sea, sailors and toilers of the sea, stood off at a distance and cried their lament when they saw the smoke from her burning: ‘Oh, what a city! There was never a city like her!' They threw dust on their heads and cried as if the world had come to an end: Doom, doom, the great city doomed! All who owned ships or did business by sea Got rich on her getting and spending. And now it's over—wiped out in one hour! "O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets! God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged." A strong Angel reached for a boulder—huge, like a millstone—and heaved it into the sea, saying, Heaved and sunk, the great city Babylon, sunk in the sea, not a sign of her ever again. Silent the music of harpists and singers— you'll never hear flutes and trumpets again. Artisans of every kind—gone; you'll never see their likes again. The voice of a millstone grinding falls dumb; you'll never hear that sound again. The light from lamps, never again; never again laughter of bride and groom. Her traders robbed the whole earth blind, and by black-magic arts deceived the nations. The only thing left of Babylon is blood— the blood of saints and prophets, the murdered and the martyred.
English Standard Version
and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What city is like the great city?'
Berean Standard Bible
and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her, saying, 'What city was ever like this great city?'
Contemporary English Version
When they saw the smoke from her fire, they shouted, "This was the greatest city ever!"
Complete Jewish Bible
and cried out when they saw the smoke as she burned, "What city was like the great city?"
Darby Translation
and cried, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city] is like to the great city?
Easy-to-Read Version
They saw the smoke from her burning. They cried out, ‘There was never a city like this great city!'
Geneva Bible (1587)
And crie, when they see that smoke of that her burning, saying, What citie was like vnto this great citie?
George Lamsa Translation
And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like to this great city!
Good News Translation
and cried out as they saw the smoke from the flames that consumed her: "There never has been another city like this great city!"
Lexham English Bible
and began to cry out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, "Who is like the great city?"
Literal Translation
and cried out, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What is like the great city?
Amplified Bible
and exclaimed as they watched the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What could be compared to the great city?'
American Standard Version
and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city?
Bible in Basic English
And crying out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What town is like the great town?
Hebrew Names Version
and cried out as they looked at the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What is like the great city?'
International Standard Version
When they saw the smoke from her fire, they began to cry out, "What city was like the great city?"Ezekiel 27:30-31; Revelation 13:4; 18:9;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
and cried, while beholding the smoke of her burning, saying, What is like to this great city !
Murdock Translation
and cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying: What [fn] is like this great city !
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And cryed, when they sawe the smoke of her burnyng, saying: what citie is lyke vnto this great citie?
English Revised Version
and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city?
World English Bible
and cried out as they looked at the smoke of her burning, saying, 'What is like the great city?'
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
stood afar off, And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city was like the great city?
Weymouth's New Testament
stood afar off, and cried aloud when they saw the smoke of her burning. And they said, `What city is like this great city?'
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and crieden, seynge the place of the brennyng of it, seiynge, What is lijk this greet citee?
Update Bible Version
and cried out as they looked on the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city] is like the great city?
Webster's Bible Translation
And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city is] like this great city!
New King James Version
and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, "What is like this great city?'
New Living Translation
They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, "Where is there another city as great as this?"
New Life Bible
They cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘Has there ever been such a city as powerful as this one?'
New Revised Standard
and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and they cried out, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying - What city is like unto the great city?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And cried, seeing the place of her burning, saying: What city is like to this great city?
Revised Standard Version
and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?"
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and cryed when they sawe the smoke of her burnynge sayinge what cite is lyke vnto this grett cite?
Young's Literal Translation
and were crying, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What [city is] like to the great city?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and cryed, when they sawe the smoke of her burnynge, and sayde: what cite is like vnto this greate cite?
Mace New Testament (1729)
and cry out, when they see the smoke of her burning, what city could be compar'd to this great city?
Simplified Cowboy Version
They will also cry out in anguish as the flames consume her. 'She was the greatest city ever!'

Contextual Overview

9 Then the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up. 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 has come!" 11 Then the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo any longer— 12 cargo such as gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all sorts of things made of citron wood, all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, perfumed ointment, frankincense, wine, olive oil and costly flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages, slaves and human lives. 14 (The ripe fruit you greatly desired has gone from you, and all your luxury and splendor have gone from you— they will never ever be found again!) 15 The merchants who sold these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep and mourn, 16 saying, "Woe, woe, O great city— dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls— 17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!" And every ship's captain, and all who sail along the coast—seamen, and all who make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18 and began to shout when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up, "Who is like the great city?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Revelation 18:9

What: Revelation 18:10, Revelation 13:4, Isaiah 23:8, Isaiah 23:9, Jeremiah 51:37, Ezekiel 27:30-32

Reciprocal: Genesis 19:28 - General Exodus 11:6 - General Deuteronomy 13:15 - destroying it utterly Job 6:21 - ye see Isaiah 34:10 - the smoke Ezekiel 27:32 - What city Ezekiel 31:15 - I caused a Hosea 11:8 - Admah Joel 2:30 - pillars Revelation 11:8 - the great Revelation 14:8 - Babylon Revelation 14:11 - smoke Revelation 19:3 - And her

Cross-References

Genesis 18:2
Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
Genesis 18:3
He said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant.
Genesis 18:17
Then the Lord said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
Genesis 18:18
After all, Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using his name.
Genesis 18:25
Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?"
Genesis 18:26
So the Lord replied, "If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
Genesis 26:4
I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.
Psalms 72:17
May his fame endure! May his dynasty last as long as the sun remains in the sky! May they use his name when they formulate their blessings! May all nations consider him to be favored by God!
Galatians 3:8
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time, saying, " All the nations will be blessed in you ."
Galatians 3:14
in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning,....

:-

saying, what city is like unto this great city? as before for magnificence and grandeur, so now for sorrow, desolation, and ruin; nor was any city like it for power and authority, for pride and luxury, for idolatry and superstition, blasphemy and impenitence; the like the sailors say of Tyre, Ezekiel 27:30 from whence this and other expressions are borrowed in this lamentation.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And cried ... - That is, as they had a deep interest in it, they would, on their own account, as well as hers, lift up the voice of lamentation.What city is like unto this great city? - In her destruction. What calamity has ever come upon a city like this?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 18:18. What city is like unto this great city! — Viz. in magnitude, power, and luxury.


 
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