Wahyu 18:1-2
Konteks18:1 After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance. 1 18:2 He 2 shouted with a powerful voice:
“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!
She 3 has become a lair for demons,
a haunt 4 for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. 5
Wahyu 18:5
Konteks18:5 because her sins have piled 6 up all the way to heaven 7 and God has remembered 8 her crimes. 9
Wahyu 18:21
Konteks18:21 Then 10 one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,
“With this kind of sudden violent force 11
Babylon the great city will be thrown down 12
and it will never be found again!
[18:1] 1 tn Grk “glory”; but often in the sense of splendor, brightness, or radiance (see L&N 14.49).
[18:2] 2 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style
[18:2] 3 tn Or “It” (the subject is embedded in the verb in Greek; the verb only indicates that it is third person). Since the city has been personified as the great prostitute, the feminine pronoun was used in the translation.
[18:2] 4 tn Here BDAG 1067 s.v. φυλακή 3 states, “a place where guarding is done, prison…Of the nether world or its place of punishment (πνεῦμα 2 and 4c) 1 Pt 3:19 (BReicke, The Disobedient Spirits and Christian Baptism ’46, 116f). It is in a φ. in the latter sense that Satan will be rendered harmless during the millennium Rv 20:7. The fallen city of Babylon becomes a φυλακή haunt for all kinds of unclean spirits and birds 18:2ab.”
[18:2] 5 tc There are several problems in this verse. It seems that according to the ms evidence the first two phrases (i.e., “and a haunt for every unclean spirit, and a haunt for every unclean bird” [καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς πνεύματος ἀκαθάρτου καὶ φυλακὴ παντὸς ὀρνέου ἀκαθάρτου, kai fulakh panto" pneumato" akaqartou kai fulakh panto" orneou akaqartou]) are to be regarded as authentic, though there are some ms discrepancies. The similar beginnings (καὶ φυλακὴ παντός) and endings (ἀκαθάρτου) of each phrase would easily account for some
[18:5] 6 tn On ἐκολλήθησαν (ekollhqhsan) BDAG 556 s.v. κολλάω 2.a.β states, “fig. cling to = come in close contact with (cp. Ps 21:16; 43:26 ἐκολλήθη εἰς γῆν ἡ γαστὴρ ἡμῶν. The act.=‘bring into contact’ PGM 5, 457 κολλήσας τ. λίθον τῷ ὠτίῳ) ἐκολλήθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἄχρι τ. οὐρανοῦ the sins have touched the heaven = reached the sky (two exprs. are telescoped) Rv 18:5.”
[18:5] 7 tn Or “up to the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).
[18:5] 8 tn That is, remembered her sins to execute judgment on them.
[18:21] 10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
[18:21] 11 tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.
[18:21] 12 sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.