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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT ESA WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Rev C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22
Rev 16 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V20 V21
OET (OET-LV) And became the city the great into three parts, and the cities of_the nations fell, and Babulōn/(Bāⱱel?
) the great was_reminded before the god, to_give to_her the cup of_the wine of_the rage of_the severe_anger of_him.
OET (OET-RV) The huge city split into three parts and cities collapsed all over the world. The famous city of Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s sight that she should be given her share of the results of his severe anger.
In this section, each of the seven angels in turn poured God’s wrath from his bowl. Each angel caused a different plague to happen on the earth. The people of the earth suffered greatly from the plagues, but they refused to repent.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The seven angels poured God’s wrath from seven bowls
The seven bowls of God’s anger
The great city was split into three parts,
The great city broke into three parts,
The earthquake split that important city into three parts
The great city was split into three parts: This clause refers to cracks forming in the ground. The cracks were so deep and wide that the people could not cross from one part of the city to another. Other ways to translate this are:
The great city…split into three sections (NLT)
The great city divided/separated into three
The great city: The word great implies that the city is an important or well-known city. This phrase may refer to Babylon or Jerusalem or the whole unbelieving world. Your translation should not name the city here.
and the cities of the nations collapsed.
and the cities of all nations fell down.
and destroyed the cities on the earth.
the cities of the nations: This phrase refers to the cities around the earth. The earthquake destroyed them.
collapsed: This word indicates that the earthquake caused all the buildings in the cities to fall down.
And God remembered Babylon the great
God now thought again about the great Babylon,
And God did not forget the important/famous city of Babylon
And God remembered Babylon the great: The Greek clause is literally “the great Babylon was remembered before God.” It indicates that God thought again about the evil deeds of the people of Babylon. He decided to act against her at this time.
The clause does not indicate that God had forgotten about their evil deeds. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that God forgot. If this is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:
God considered Babylon the Great
God turned again to/upon Babylon the Great
Babylon the great: The city of Babylon is called great because at that time it had a vast empire and great influence over neighboring countries. For example:
great Babylon (RSV)
Babylon: The name of this city is probably a symbol for people who oppose God. The king of Babylon conquered Jerusalem about six hundred years before Jesus lived on earth. The city was well known for idol worship. It had a vast empire at that time.
But at the time that Jesus and John lived on earth, Babylon was only ruins. So it is a symbol here. It may refer to Rome, or it may refer to a future powerful city. So you should use the name Babylon here.
and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.
and he made her drink the cup filled with the wine of his great anger.
but gave to her the cup filled with his terrible anger to drink it all.
gave her: The pronoun her refers to Babylon. Here and in the following chapters the city is spoken about as if it were a woman. She was given the cup. For example:
gave to her
This phrase implies that God made her drink the wine. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that she refused to drink. If that is true in your language, you may want to indicate that she drank. For example:
made her drink
gave to her and she drank
the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath: The word wine is a metaphor for the fury of His wrath. The cup is part of that metaphor. The metaphor indicates that Babylon will experience the full intensity of God’s anger.
In some languages a literal translation would not indicate the correct meaning. If this is true in your language, you may want to:
Translate literally and explain its meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:
These words indicates that Babylon will experience the full intensity of God’s anger.
Translate the meaning without the metaphor. For example:
the full intensity of his great anger
See how you translated a similar metaphor (“the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of his wrath”) in 14:10.
wine: Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the juice of grapes. In some languages people are not familiar with wine. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Use a general word for a common beverage in your area. You may then want a footnote to explain the literal word. For example:
Literally: “wine.”
Use the word for the common alcoholic beverage in your area. You may then want a footnote to explain the literal word, using the major language word. For example:
Literally: “wine.”
See how you translated this word in 14:8. You probably do not need to repeat here the part of the footnote explaining what wine is.
the fury of His wrath: The Greek word that the BSB translates as fury refers to a great amount of emotion. The phrase refers to the great amount of anger that God has toward Babylon. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
his fierce wrath (NLT)
his terrible anger (NCV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη
the city ¬the great
John assumes that his readers will understand that by the great city he means Babylon the Great, as he says later in the verse. You can use the name here as well if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [Babylon the Great]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
αἱ πόλεις
the cities
John is using these cities as a whole to mean the individual parts of them, that is, their buildings. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the buildings in the cities]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἔπεσαν
fell
John is not speaking of these cities or their buildings as if they were living things that could fall down accidentally. He means that the buildings in the cities collapsed. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [collapsed]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη ἐμνήσθη ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, δοῦναι αὐτῇ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη εἰς τρία μέρη καί αἱ πόλεις τῶν ἐθνῶν ἔπεσαν καί Βαβυλών ἡ μεγάλη ἐμνήσθη ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ δοῦναι αὐτῇ τό ποτήριον τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [God remembered Babylon the Great to give to her]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη ἐμνήσθη ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, δοῦναι αὐτῇ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη εἰς τρία μέρη καί αἱ πόλεις τῶν ἐθνῶν ἔπεσαν καί Βαβυλών ἡ μεγάλη ἐμνήσθη ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ δοῦναι αὐτῇ τό ποτήριον τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ)
John is not suggesting that God had forgotten about Babylon the Great but now remembered the city. He is using a common biblical expression that means that God took action with regard to a person or entity of which he was already aware, either to help or to punish. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [God punished Babylon the Great by giving her]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη ἐμνήσθη
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη εἰς τρία μέρη καί αἱ πόλεις τῶν ἐθνῶν ἔπεσαν καί Βαβυλών ἡ μεγάλη ἐμνήσθη ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ δοῦναι αὐτῇ τό ποτήριον τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ)
John is referring to the people who live in the city of Babylon by association with that city itself. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the people who lived in the great city of Babylon were remembered]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
δοῦναι αὐτῇ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ
˓to˒_give ˱to˲_her (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγένετο ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη εἰς τρία μέρη καί αἱ πόλεις τῶν ἐθνῶν ἔπεσαν καί Βαβυλών ἡ μεγάλη ἐμνήσθη ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ δοῦναι αὐτῇ τό ποτήριον τοῦ οἴνου τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ)
John is alluding to what the angel said in [14:10](../14/10.md) about the “wine of the wrath” of God’s “anger” that was in his “cup.” It is likely that he is therefore referring symbolically, as the angel was, to God making people and entities experience the just consequences of their actions. If it would be clearer in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [to make her experience the just consequences of her actions that have made God so angry]
OET (OET-LV) And became the city the great into three parts, and the cities of_the nations fell, and Babulōn/(Bāⱱel?
) the great was_reminded before the god, to_give to_her the cup of_the wine of_the rage of_the severe_anger of_him.
OET (OET-RV) The huge city split into three parts and cities collapsed all over the world. The famous city of Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s sight that she should be given her share of the results of his severe anger.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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