The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, will stand far away for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;
Parallel translations
- 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,
- BSB 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,
- 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 18:3For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.”
- Acts 19:24–27For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen,
- Rev 18:10–11standing 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.’
- Ezek 27:31and they shall make themselves bald for you, and clothe them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for you in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.
- Acts 16:19But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
- Zech 11:5Their buyers slaughter them, and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I am rich;’ and their own shepherds don’t pity them.
- Mark 11:17He taught, saying to them, “Isn’t it 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 has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to defraud.
- Amos 5:16–17Therefore Yahweh, the God of Armies, the Lord, says: “Wailing will be in all the wide ways; and they will say in all the streets, ‘Alas! Alas!’ and they will call the farmer to mourning, and those who are skillful in lamentation to wailing.
- Judg 18:23–24As they cried to the children of Dan, they turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with 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
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