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OET (OET-LV) from afar having_stood, because_of the fear of_the torment of_her saying:
Woe, woe, the city the great Babulōn/(Bāⱱel?
), the city the strong.
Because in_one hour came the judgement of_you.
OET (OET-RV) In their fear they’ll stand back at a distance and say,
⇔ “The famous city’s end won’t be good,
⇔ the powerful city of Babylon.
⇔ Because your judgement has come all at once.”
In this section, three heavenly beings each announce something about Babylon. The first announcement is that the city is destroyed. Her riches and prosperity have been taken away.
The second announcement is that God’s people should leave Babylon before God destroys her. It also describes how kings and others mourn over the destroyed city.
The third announcement is that Babylon will never be built again.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
An angel announced that Babylon was destroyed, and some groups are sad
Announcements about the destruction of Babylon
Various people talk about Babylon
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out:
Being frightened at her torment and therefore standing far away, they will say,
They will be so afraid of how much she is suffering that they will stand at a great distance from her. Full of grief/sadness they will say,
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance: The Greek words indicate that the kings stood far away because they were afraid of Babylon’s torment. They did not want that torment to also happen to them. Other ways to translate these words are:
standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment (NASB)
while they keep at a safe distance through fear of her anguish (NJB)
torment: This word refers to much hurt and pain. The Greek word is the same word as “torment” in 18:7b. But the context here refers to feeling hurt and pain rather than causing hurt and pain. Other ways to translate this word are:
anguish (NJB)
suffering (GNT)
cry out: The Greek word is literally “say” (as in the RSV). The BSB uses the words cry out with the meaning of “speak with much emotion.”
“Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon!
“Babylon, great city, city of power! How terrible, so terrible for you!
‘O great and powerful city Babylon, there is great and terrible trouble for you!
:Babylon, that important/famous and strong city. Such a great disaster happened to her/it!
Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon!: There are two ways to interpret how Babylon was addressed:
The speakers addressed Babylon directly. For example:
Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! (ESV) (BSB, RSV, NIV, NABRE, REB, NET, NLT, ESV, NCV)
The speakers spoke about Babylon here. For example:
How terrible! How awful! This great and mighty city Babylon! (GNT) (GNT, NJB, NASB, NRSV, GW, CEV, KJV)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the next sentence was spoken to Babylon.Aune (page 997) clearly supports interpretation (1). Others are less clear but probably support interpretation (1). For example, Osbourne translates 18:10b–c as “Woe, woe, great city, Babylon, mighty city, because in one hour your judgment has come.”
However, in some languages it is not natural to address a city directly. If that is true in your language, you may want to follow interpretation (2).
In some languages it is more natural to say first whom the speakers are addressing. For example:
to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon, woe, woe!
the great city, the mighty city of Babylon, woe, woe to it!
Woe, woe: The word Woe is repeated to emphasize its meaning. But in some languages it is more natural not to repeat the word. If that is true in your language, you should emphasize the woe in a natural way. For example:
Great woe indeed!
Woe: The Greek word here means “There will be trouble for (someone).” The word indicates sorrow about the troubles. Other ways to translate this word are:
How terrible (GNT)
Alas (RSV)
Such great trouble for
See how you translated this word in 8:13.
For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
In one hour your(sing) judgment has occurred/happened!”
In one hour you have been fully punished!”
Her/Its great punishment was sudden, and all of it occurred so quickly!”
a single hour: Here the phrase a single hour refers to a short time, not necessarily a literal hour. It implies suddenness. Babylon did not expect God to come and judge her. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
a very short time
quickly and suddenly
your judgment has come: This clause indicates that Babylon has been punished as God judged that she should be. In some languages it is more natural to use a different verb than come. For example:
your judgment has occurred/happened
You may have translated “O great city, O Babylon, city of power” following interpretation (2) above. If that is true in your language, you may want to do the same here. For example:
her judgment has come
judgment: Here the Greek word that the BSB translates as judgment means that God judged Babylon to be deserving of death, mourning, and famine (18:8b). Other ways to translate this word are:
condemnation
punishment (NCV)
In some languages it is necessary or more natural to use a verb here. For example:
God has judged/condemned you
you have been punished (GNT)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπό μακρόθεν ἑστηκότες διά τόν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς λέγοντες Οὐαί οὐαί ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη Βαβυλών ἡ πόλις ἡ ἰσχυρά Ὅτι μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις σοῦ)
John is referring to the fire that is burning up and tormenting Babylon by association with the torment itself. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [because they are afraid of the fire that is tormenting her]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / reduplication
οὐαὶ, οὐαί
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπό μακρόθεν ἑστηκότες διά τόν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς λέγοντες Οὐαί οὐαί ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη Βαβυλών ἡ πόλις ἡ ἰσχυρά Ὅτι μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις σοῦ)
As the General Notes to this chapter discuss, the speakers are repeating the word woe for emphasis. If it would not be natural in your language to repeat a word like that, you could express the emphasis in another way, for example, by using a different expression and including the word “very,” as the UST does.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / apostrophe
ὅτι μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις σου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπό μακρόθεν ἑστηκότες διά τόν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς λέγοντες Οὐαί οὐαί ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη Βαβυλών ἡ πόλις ἡ ἰσχυρά Ὅτι μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις σοῦ)
The kings are speaking directly to the city of Babylon even though they know that the city cannot hear them. They are doing this to show in a very strong way to the people who can hear them, their fellow kings, how they feel about what is happening to Babylon. If someone speaking your language would not do this, you could translate this as the merchants speaking to one another about Babylon rather than to Babylon. Alternate translation: [For in one hour her judgment has come]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
μιᾷ ὥρᾳ
˱in˲_one hour
As the General Notes to this chapter discuss, in the ancient world, an hour was the shortest time span that people envisioned. In contexts such as this one, the term does not mean a literal hour of sixty minutes. It means the shortest time imaginable. Alternate translation: [in such a short time]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις σου
came the judgment (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀπό μακρόθεν ἑστηκότες διά τόν φόβον τοῦ βασανισμοῦ αὐτῆς λέγοντες Οὐαί οὐαί ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη Βαβυλών ἡ πόλις ἡ ἰσχυρά Ὅτι μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις σοῦ)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of judgment, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [God has judged you]
OET (OET-LV) from afar having_stood, because_of the fear of_the torment of_her saying:
Woe, woe, the city the great Babulōn/(Bāⱱel?
), the city the strong.
Because in_one hour came the judgement of_you.
OET (OET-RV) In their fear they’ll stand back at a distance and say,
⇔ “The famous city’s end won’t be good,
⇔ the powerful city of Babylon.
⇔ Because your judgement has come all at once.”
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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