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Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
Revelation 18:6 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Return to her just as she returned, and repay her double as she did, and according to her works. In the cup which she mixed, mix to her double.
  • KJV Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
  • NKJV Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.
  • NASB Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.
  • NLT Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for 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

Babylon is to be repaid double for her deeds, drinking the same cup she mixed for others. Her judgment fits her crimes.

Overview

The call for double repayment expresses the fullness and justice of God's recompense, not arbitrary cruelty. She who poured out a cup of corruption now receives a cup of wrath in proportion to her works. The verse affirms the biblical principle that people reap what they sow and that God's judgments are perfectly fair.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • Jer 50:29Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
  • Ps 137:8O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.
  • Jer 51:24Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.
  • Jer 50:15Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.
  • Rev 16:19The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.
  • Rev 14:10he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented in fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
  • Jer 16:18And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”
  • Jer 17:18Let my persecutors be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but do not let me be terrified. Bring upon them the day of disaster and shatter them with double destruction.
  • Rev 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.
  • Jer 51:49“Babylon must fall on account of the slain of Israel, just as the slain of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.
  • Zech 9:12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double.
  • 2 Tim 4:14Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
  • Exod 21:23–25But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life—
  • Rev 16:5–6And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.
  • Isa 40:2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
  • Rev 13:10“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.
  • Rev 17:2The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”
  • Isa 61:7Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Revelation videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Revelation 18:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on RevelationMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 18:6 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.