And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”
Parallel translations
- WEB A second said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.”
- KJV And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
- NKJV Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”
- NASB And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”
- NLT And again their voices rang out: “Praise the Lord! The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!”
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 second Hallelujah declares that her smoke rises forever and ever. Babylon's judgment is permanent.
Overview
The heavenly chorus repeats its praise, noting the eternal, irreversible nature of Babylon's destruction. The rising smoke, echoing the fall of Sodom and Edom, signifies that her doom will never be undone. God's victory over evil is final, securing the everlasting safety of His redeemed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 34:10It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever again pass through it.
- Rev 18:18and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.
- Rev 14:11And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
- Rev 18:9Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
- Jude 1:7In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
- Rev 19:1After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
- Gen 19:28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.
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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 19:3 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.