Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.
Parallel translations
- WEB A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and will be found no more at all.
- KJV And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
- NKJV Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.
- NASB Then a strong angel picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will never be found again.
- NLT Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again.
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
A mighty angel hurls a great millstone into the sea, picturing Babylon's violent and final overthrow. She will be found no more.
Overview
The dramatic sign, drawn from Jeremiah's prophecy against ancient Babylon, enacts her irreversible doom. As a millstone sinks beyond recovery, so the great city disappears forever. The symbolic act seals the certainty of God's judgment on every system that exalts itself against Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jer 51:63–64When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.
- Ezek 26:21I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- Rev 5:2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
- Rev 18:22And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.
- Rev 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Dan 11:19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.
- Job 20:8He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
- Rev 16:20Then every island fled, and no mountain could be found.
- Rev 12:8But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels.
- Neh 9:11You divided the sea before them, and they crossed through it on dry ground. You hurled their pursuers into the depths like a stone into raging waters.
- Rev 18:10In 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.”
- Exod 15:5The depths have covered them; they sank there like a stone.
- Ps 37:36yet he passed away and was no more; though I searched, he could not be found.
- Rev 10:1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
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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 18:21 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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