Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
Parallel translations
- WEB I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues,
- KJV And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
- NKJV And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
- NASB I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues;
- NLT Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, “Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her.
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 heavenly voice calls God's people to 'come out of her' so they share neither her sins nor her plagues. Believers must separate from worldly corruption.
Overview
Drawing on prophetic calls to flee ancient Babylon, the summons urges God's people to spiritual separation from the doomed system. To remain entangled is to share both her guilt and her judgment. The verse calls Christians in every age to holiness and non-conformity, living as citizens of a different city even while in the world.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Isa 52:11Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
- 2 Cor 6:17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
- Jer 51:6Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
- Jer 51:45Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.
- Jer 50:8Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.
- Isa 48:20Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
- 1 Tim 5:22Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
- Gen 19:12–13Then the two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—a son-in-law, your sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here,
- Ps 50:18When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.
- 2 Jn 1:11Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.
- Jer 51:50You who have escaped the sword, depart and do not linger! Remember the LORD from far away, and let Jerusalem come to mind.”
- Num 16:26–27And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.”
- Matt 24:15–16So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),
- Matt 23:30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 18:4 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.