For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Parallel translations
- WEB for her sins have reached to the sky, and God has remembered her iniquities.
- BSB For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
- NKJV For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
- NASB for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her offenses.
- NLT For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds.
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
Her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. No accumulated evil escapes His notice.
Overview
The image of sins reaching the sky recalls the tower of Babel and shows the immense weight of Babylon's guilt. God 'remembering' means He now acts in judgment, for nothing is forgotten before Him. This assures the persecuted that injustice is recorded and will be addressed by a righteous God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 18:20–21And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
- Ezra 9:6And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.
- Jer 51:9We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
- Rev 16:19And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
- Jonah 1:2Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
- 2 Chr 28:9But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.
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 18:5 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.