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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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;
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! Go out from among her! Cleanse yourselves, you who carry Yahweh’s vessels.
- 2 Cor 6:17Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
- Jer 51:6“Flee out of the middle of Babylon! Everyone save his own life! Don’t be cut off in her iniquity; for it is the time of Yahweh’s vengeance. He will render to her a recompense.
- Jer 51:45“My people, go away from the middle of her, and each of you save yourselves from Yahweh’s fierce anger.
- Jer 50:8“Flee out of the middle of Babylon! Go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks.
- Isa 48:20Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth: say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
- 1 Tim 5:22Lay hands hastily on no one, neither be a participant in other men’s sins. Keep yourself pure.
- Gen 19:12–13The men said to Lot, “Do you have anybody else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, bring them out of the place:
- Ps 50:18When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers.
- 2 Jn 1:11for he who welcomes him participates in his evil deeds.
- Jer 51:50You who have escaped the sword, go! Don’t stand still! Remember Yahweh from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.”
- Num 16:26–27He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”
- Matt 24:15–16“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
- Matt 23:30and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn’t have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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.