UTN uW Translation Notes:

Revelation 18 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with all or part of verses 1–8, 10, 16–17, and 19–24.

Translation Issues in this Chapter

### “in one hour”Characters in the narrative use the expression “in one hour” in verses 10, 17, 19. In the ancient world, an “hour” was the shortest time span that people envisioned. In this context, the term does not mean a literal hour of 60 minutes. It means the shortest time imaginable. You may wish to translate this phrase with a comparable phrase in your language such as “in such a short time.” (See: figs-idiom)

“woe, woe”

In verses 10, 16, and 19, kings and merchants repeat 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.

“she,” “her”

People in this culture conventionally referred to cities by using feminine pronouns. Accordingly, throughout this chapter, various speakers refer to the city of Babylon as “she” and “her.” Your language may use a different gender, so you might say “it” and “its” in your translation. You could also use a noun and say “that city.” (See: writing-pronouns)

“will not be see/heard/found anymore”

In verses 21, 22, and 23, an angel speaks a series of similar phrases describing what will not be “found” or “heard” or “seen” in Babylon “anymore.” The repetition of such phrases is a figure of speech for emphasis. The angel is emphasizing how thoroughly God will destroy Babylon. If possible, use similar statements in your own translation. You may also wish to make each of these verses a separate paragraph, as ULT does, or use formatting in some other way to highlight the repeated phrases. (See: figs-litany)