Wahyu 18:2

18:2 He ¹  shouted with a powerful voice:

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!

She ²  has become a lair for demons,

a haunt ³  for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ⁴ 

Wahyu 18:4-8

18:4 Then ⁵  I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, 18:5 because her sins have piled ⁶  up all the way to heaven ⁷  and God has remembered ⁸  her crimes. ⁹  18:6 Repay her the same way she repaid others; ¹⁰  pay her back double ¹¹  corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her. 18:7 As much as ¹²  she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, ¹³  to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, ¹⁴  ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’ 18:8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues ¹⁵  in a single day: disease, ¹⁶  mourning, ¹⁷  and famine, and she will be burned down ¹⁸  with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”

[18:2]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style

[18:2]  ² tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.

[18:2]  ³ tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”

[18:2]  ⁴ tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some mss omitting one or the other phrase. The third phrase (“a haunt for every unclean animal” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς θηρίου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" qhriou akaqartou]), however, is more problematic since it is missing in several important mss (א C 051 Ï). The passage as a whole, including the third phrase, seems to be an allusion to Isa 13:21 and 34:11. It seems reasonable, in such a case, to assume that since there is good ms evidence to support the third phrase (A 1611 2329 al), it probably dropped out of certain mss because of its similarity to the two preceding clauses. It is the presence of all three phrases in the original that most likely gave rise to the divergent ms evidence extant today.

[18:4]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:5]  ⁶ tn On ἐκολλήθησαν (ekollhqhsan) BDAG 556 s.v. κολλάω 2.a.β states, “fig. cling to = come in close contact with (cp. Ps 21:16; 43:26 ἐκολλήθη εἰς γῆν ἡ γαστὴρ ἡμῶν. The act.=‘bring into contact’ PGM 5, 457 κολλήσας τ. λίθον τῷ ὠτίῳ) ἐκολλήθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἄχρι τ. οὐρανοῦ the sins have touched the heaven = reached the sky (two exprs. are telescoped) Rv 18:5.”

[18:5]  ⁷ tn Or “up to the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[18:5]  ⁸ tn That is, remembered her sins to execute judgment on them.

[18:5]  ⁹ tn Or “her sins.”

[18:6]  ¹⁰ tn The word “others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:6]  ¹¹ tn On this term BDAG 252 s.v. διπλόω states, “to double τὰ διπλᾶ pay back double Rv 18:6.”

[18:7]  ¹² tn “As much as” is the translation of ὅσα (Josa).

[18:7]  ¹³ tn On the term ἐστρηνίασεν (estrhniasen) BDAG 949 s.v. στρηνιάω states, “live in luxury, live sensually Rv 18:7. W. πορνεύειν vs. 9.”

[18:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “said in her heart,” an idiom for saying something to oneself.

[18:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “For this reason, her plagues will come.”

[18:8]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “death.” θάνατος (qanatos) can in particular contexts refer to a manner of death, specifically a contagious disease (see BDAG 443 s.v. 3; L&N 23.158).

[18:8]  ¹⁷ tn This is the same Greek word (πένθος, penqo") translated “grief” in vv. 7-8.

[18:8]  ¹⁸ tn Here “burned down” was used to translate κατακαυθήσεται (katakauqhsetai) because a city is in view.