Revelation 18:10

Bible in Basic English

Watching from far away, for fear of her punishment, saying, Sorrow, sorrow for Babylon, the great town, the strong town! for in one hour you have been judged.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying,

King James Version (1611)
Standing afarre off for the feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that mighty citie: for in one houre is thy iudgement come.

King James Version
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

New American Standard Bible
standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'

New Century Version
They will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away and say: "Terrible! How terrible for you, great city, powerful city of Babylon, because your punishment has come in one hour!"

English Standard Version
They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'

Berean Standard Bible
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: "Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come."

Contemporary English Version
Her sufferings will frighten them, and they will stand at a distance and say, "Pity that great and powerful city! Pity Babylon! In a single hour her judgment has come."

Complete Jewish Bible
Standing at a distance, for fear of her torment, they will say, "Oh no! The great city! Bavel, the mighty city! In a single hour your judgment has come!"

Darby Translation
standing afar off, through fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour thy judgment is come.

Easy-to-Read Version
The rulers will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away. They will say, ‘Terrible! How terrible, O great city, O powerful city of Babylon! Your punishment came in one hour!'

Geneva Bible (1587)
And shall stand a farre off for feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that mightie citie: for in one houre is thy iudgemet come.

George Lamsa Translation
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour you have been condemned.

Good News Translation
They stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They say, "How terrible! How awful! This great and mighty city Babylon! In just one hour you have been punished!"

Lexham English Bible
standing far off because of the fear of her torment, saying, "Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon the powerful city, because in one hour your judgment has come!"

Literal Translation
standing from afar because of the fear of her torment, saying, Woe! Woe to the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment came.

Amplified Bible
standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.'

American Standard Version
standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Hebrew Names Version
standing far away for the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Bavel, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.'

International Standard Version
Frightened by her torture, they will stand far away and say,Isaiah 21:9; Revelation 14:8,17, 19;">[xr] "How terrible, how terrible it is for that great city, the powerful city Babylon! For in one hour your judgment has come!"

Etheridge Translation
standing from far, for fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, that great city Babel, that mighty city ! For in one hour hath come thy judgment.

Murdock Translation
standing afar off, from fear of her torment, [fn] saying, Alas, alas ! that great city Babylon, that powerful city; for in one hour is thy judgment come!

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And shall stande a farre of for feare of her punishment, saying: Alas, alas, that great citie Babylon, that myghtie citie, for at one houre is thy iudgement come.

English Revised Version
standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

World English Bible
standing far away for the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For your judgment has come in one hour.'

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Standing afar off for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas! Thou great city Babylon, thou strong city! In one hour is thy judgment come.

Weymouth's New Testament
while they stand afar off because of their terror at her heavy punishment, and say, `Alas, alas, thou great city, O Babylon, the mighty city! For in one short hour thy doom has come!'

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
stondynge fer, for drede of the turmentis of it, and seiynge, Wo! wo! wo! thilke greet citee Babiloyn, and thilke stronge citee; for in oon our thi dom cometh.

Update Bible Version
standing far off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is your judgment come.

Webster's Bible Translation
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

New English Translation
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!"

New King James Version
standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, "Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'

New Living Translation
They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, "How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God's judgment came on you."

New Life Bible
They stand a long way from her because they are afraid of her sufferings. They say, ‘It is bad! It is bad for the big and powerful city of Babylon. For in one hour she is destroyed.'

New Revised Standard
they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas, alas, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
afar off, standing, because of their fear of her torment, saying - Alas! alas! the great city! Babylon, the mighty city! That, in one hour, hath come thy judgment.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Standing afar off for fear of her torments, saying: Alas! alas! that great city, Babylon, that mighty city: for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Revised Standard Version
they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas! alas! thou great city, thou mighty city, Babylon! In one hour has thy judgment come."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
and shall stonde a farre of for feare of her punnysshment sayinge: Alas Alas that gret cite Babilon that myghty cite: For at won houre is her iudgment come.

Young's Literal Translation
from afar having stood because of the fear of her torment, saying, Wo, wo, the great city! Babylon, the strong city! because in one hour did come thy judgment.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and shal stonde a farre of for feare of her punysshment, sayenge: Alas, Alas, that greate cite Babylon, that mighty cite: For at one houre is thy iudgment come.

Mace New Testament (1729)
frightned at her torments they will stand afar off, and cry, "alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! what! is thy condemnation so suddenly come?"

Simplified Cowboy Version
But they ain't stupid, they won't get too close because they don't want to get a taste of what she's going through. They will say, 'This is horrible. What a waste! In just one hour Babylon has been brought down.'

Contextual Overview

⁹ And the kings of the earth, who made themselves unclean with her, and in her company gave themselves up to evil, will be weeping and crying over her, when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰ Watching from far away, for fear of her punishment, saying, Sorrow, sorrow for Babylon, the great town, the strong town! for in one hour you have been judged. ¹¹ And the traders of the earth are weeping and crying over her, because no man has any more desire for their goods, ¹² Gold, and silver, and stones of great price, and jewels, and delicate linen, and robes of purple and silk and red; and perfumed wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of fair wood, and of brass, and iron, and stone; ¹³ And sweet-smelling plants, and perfumes, and wine, and oil, and well crushed grain, and cattle and sheep; and horses and carriages and servants; and souls of men. ¹⁴ And the fruit of your soul's desire has gone from you, and all things delicate and shining have come to an end and will never again be seen. ¹⁵ The traders in these things, by which their wealth was increased, will be watching far off for fear of her punishment, weeping and crying; ¹⁶ Saying, Sorrow, sorrow for the great town, she who was clothed in delicate linen, and purple, and red; with ornaments of gold and stones of great price and jewels! ¹⁷ For in one hour such great wealth has come to nothing. And every shipmaster, and all who are sailing on the sea, and sailors and all who get their living by the sea, were watching from far away, ¹⁸ And crying out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What town is like the great town?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

afar: Numbers 16:34

Alas: Revelation 18:16, Revelation 18:19, Jeremiah 30:7, Joel 1:15, Amos 5:16

that great: Revelation 14:8, Isaiah 21:9

for: Revelation 18:8, Revelation 18:17, Revelation 18:19, Jeremiah 51:8, Jeremiah 51:9

Reciprocal: Joshua 5:1 - heard 2 Samuel 10:19 - feared 2 Kings 6:5 - master Job 6:21 - ye see Job 34:26 - in Psalms 64:8 - all that Psalms 73:19 - How Isaiah 9:14 - in one day Isaiah 13:6 - Howl ye Isaiah 13:14 - they shall Isaiah 47:11 - thou shalt not be Jeremiah 48:39 - How is it Jeremiah 49:21 - earth Jeremiah 49:25 - General Jeremiah 50:27 - their day Jeremiah 51:25 - and will Jeremiah 51:30 - The mighty Jeremiah 51:41 - the praise Ezekiel 6:11 - Alas Ezekiel 26:17 - How art Ezekiel 27:35 - their kings Ezekiel 28:19 - they Ezekiel 30:2 - Howl Ezekiel 30:4 - pain Ezekiel 32:9 - vex Ezekiel 32:10 - and they Daniel 4:30 - great Obadiah 1:5 - how Micah 7:17 - they shall be Nahum 3:7 - that all Zephaniah 2:15 - how is Revelation 11:8 - the great Revelation 14:7 - hour Revelation 16:19 - the great Revelation 17:5 - Babylon Revelation 18:2 - Babylon Revelation 18:18 - What Revelation 19:2 - judged

Cross-References

Genesis 16:10
And the angel of the Lord said, Your seed will be greatly increased so that it may not be numbered.

Genesis 17:16
And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring.

Genesis 17:19
And God said, Not so; but Sarah, your wife, will have a son, and you will give him the name Isaac, and I will make my agreement with him for ever and with his seed after him.

Genesis 17:21
But my agreement will be with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth a year from this time.

Genesis 18:3
And said, My Lord, if now I have grace in your eyes, do not go away from your servant:

Genesis 18:5
And let me get a bit of bread to keep up your strength, and after that you may go on your way: for this is why you have come to your servant. And they said, Let it be so.

Genesis 18:8
And he took butter and milk and the young ox which he had made ready and put it before them, waiting by them under the tree while they took food.

Genesis 18:9
And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent.

Genesis 18:13
And the Lord said, Why was Sarah laughing and saying, Is it possible for me, being old, to give birth to a child?

Genesis 18:14
Is there any wonder which the Lord is not able to do? At the time I said, in the spring, I will come back to you, and Sarah will have a child.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment,.... Lest they themselves should share in it, who have partook of her sins; either they will not be in a capacity to help her, or they will be dispirited, and will be in awe and dread of God's righteous judgments:

saying, alas! alas! that great city Babylon! that mighty city! it will aggravate their sorrow, when they reflect upon the former grandeur, magnificence, power, and authority, of the city and see of Rome, so often called in this book the great city; and so it is by other writers; the Jews call it so: they say c, when the Messiah comes,

"the kings of the world shall be gathered to קרתא רבתא, "the great city" of Rome; and the holy blessed God will cast upon them fire and hail, and great hail stones, (with which compare Revelation 16:21), and they shall perish from the world, except those kings that do not come there.''

It is common with the Jewish writers to call the Roman empire Edom; and Magdiel, one of the dukes of Edom, Genesis 36:43 who has his name from "greatness", is interpreted by one of their commentators d of Rome; the reason of which, another of them says e, is because Rome is become great above all kingdoms: the mount of Esau in Obadiah 1:21 is interpreted ית כרכא רבא, "that great city" of Esau, which is Rome f, and the same epithet it has in the Talmud g; and Porphyry calls it την μεγαλην πολιν, "that great city", without making mention of its name, as here; so among the Latins h, "Magnoe spes altera" Romae:

for in one hour is thy judgment come: the Ethiopic version reads, "the hour of her judgment"; the time of her punishment fixed by God; but the sense is, that her vengeance was suddenly come upon her; this is the judgment of the great whore, which the angel proposed to show to John, Revelation 17:1.

c Zohar in Gen. fol. 74. 3. d Jarchi in Gen. xxxvi. 43. e Abarbinel in Dan. fol. 42. 3. f Jarchi in Obadiah, ver. 21. g T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 2. h Servius in Virgil, Eclog. 6. p. 67.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment - Not daring to approach, to attempt to rescue and save her. They who had so long contributed to the support of the papal power, and who had, in turn, been upheld by that, would not now even attempt to rescue her, but would stand by and see her destroyed, unable to render relief.

Alas, alas, that great city Babylon - The language of lamentation that so great and so mighty a city should fall.

For in one hour is thy judgment come - See the notes on Revelation 18:8. The general sentiment here is, that, in the final ruin of papal Rome, the kings and governments that had sustained her, and had been sustained by her, would see the source of their power taken away, but that they would not, or could not attempt her rescue. There have been not a few indications already that this will ultimately occur, and that the papal power will be left to fall, without any attempt, on the part of those governments which have been so long in alliance with it, to sustain or restore it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 18:10. Standing afar off — Beholding her desolations with wonder and astonishment, utterly unable to afford her any kind of assistance.