The merchants who sold these things and grew their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn,
Parallel translations
- WEB The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;
- KJV The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
- NKJV The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
- NASB The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,
- NLT The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The merchants who grew rich from her stand far off in fear, weeping and mourning. They lament their lost wealth, not their sin.
Overview
Like the kings, the merchants keep their distance from the judged city, terrified of sharing her torment. Their grief centers on the riches they can no longer gain. The repeated pattern of distant, selfish mourning highlights the emptiness of lives invested in Babylon's prosperity rather than in God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Rev 18:3All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”
- Acts 19:24–27It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
- Rev 18:10–11In 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.”
- Ezek 27:31They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.
- Acts 16:19When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.
- Zech 11:5whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.
- Mark 11:17Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
- Hos 12:7–8A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
- Amos 5:16–17Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail.
- Judg 18:23–24When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 18:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.