Revelation 18:9

Revelation 18:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
• New International Version (NIV)“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,

Context of Revelation 18:9

7She liked to receive honour. She bought expensive things to enjoy a wicked life. So now give her the trouble and pain that she deserves. She has said to herself, “I rule people like a queen. I do not live like a widow. I will never need to be sad.” 8Because she speaks like that, she will receive many troubles in one single day. Her people will become very ill. They will be very sad. They will have no food to eat. Fire will destroy the city, The Lord God is powerful. So he will punish her with these troubles.’ When all that happens, the kings on the earth will be very sad. They enjoyed the bad things that people did in that city. They had many expensive things so that they were happy. Now they will see the smoke from the fire that burns the city. As a result, they will cry and they will weep. 10They will stand a long way from the city because they are afraid. They do not want to suffer in the same way. They will say, ‘Terrible trouble has come to you, Babylon! Great city! Powerful city! It is very bad for you! In one single hour God has destroyed you!’ 11The traders of this world will also be very sad. They will weep because nobody will buy their things any more.

Revelation 18:9 word by word

Καὶ κλαύσουσιν καὶ κόψονται ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς οἱ μετ᾽ αὐτῆς πορνεύσαντες καὶ στρηνιάσαντες, ὅταν βλέπωσιν τὸν καπνὸν τῆς πυρώσεως αὐτῆςRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the kingsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the kingsβασιλεύςbasileus · kingG935
• of the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• have committed fornicationπορνεύωporneuō · to sin sexuallyG4203
• lived deliciouslyστρηνιάωstrēniaō · to revelG4763
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
• herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• shall bewailκλαίωklaiō · to weepG2799
• lamentκόπτωkoptō · to cut/mournG2875
• forἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• whenὅτανhotan · when(-ever)G3752
• they shall seeβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
• the smokeκαπνόςkapnos · smokeG2586
• burningπύρωσιςpurōsis · burningG4451

Cross-references for Revelation 18:9

• Revelation 18:3She has been like a prostitute who makes men become drunk. Then she leads them to have sex in a wrong way. She has caused people from every nation to turn away from God. It is like all the kings of the earth have had sex with that bad woman. All the traders of the earth have become rich, because she has bought things from them to enjoy a wicked life.’
• Revelation 17:2It is like the kings who rule on the earth have had sex with that bad woman. She has led the people who live on the earth to do bad things. They have become drunk from the strong wine that she has given to them.’
• Revelation 18:20Yes, you who live in heaven, be happy! Be happy because God has punished Babylon! God's people and his apostles and his prophets, be happy! God has punished the city because of what she did to you.
• Psalms 58:10When God punishes those wicked people, righteous people will be very happy. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked people!
• Jeremiah 50:46When the enemy takes power over Babylon, the noise will cause the whole earth to shake. The other nations will hear Babylon's people shout with pain.’
• Ezekiel 26:16Then the rulers of the towns on the coast of the sea will be very sad. They will no longer sit on their thrones. They will remove their beautiful royal clothes. They will sit on the ground as they shake with fear. They will not stop shaking when they hear what has happened to you.
• Ezekiel 32:9When many other nations know that I have destroyed you, they will be afraid. Foreign nations that you do not know will be very upset.
• Daniel 4:14The angel shouted aloud, “Cut down the tree. Cut off its branches. Tear off its leaves. Let its fruits go away to other places. The animals that are under the tree must run away. The birds that are in its branches must fly away.
• Zechariah 11:2Cry aloud, cypress tree, because the cedar tree has fallen. Enemies have cut down the tall and beautiful trees. Cry aloud, oak trees in Bashan, because they have cut down the thick forest.
• Revelation 18:18They will see the smoke from the fire that burns the city. Then they will shout, ‘There is no other city like this great city!’
• Revelation 14:11The smoke will rise for ever while they burn. They will have no rest during the day or during the night. This will happen to everyone who worships the wild animal and its image. It will happen to everyone who receives the mark which shows its name.’
• Revelation 19:3Then the crowd of people in heaven shouted again, ‘Praise the Lord our God! The smoke from the fire that burns that city will go up for ever.’
• Genesis 19:28He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole valley. He saw thick dark smoke that was rising from the land. It was the smoke from a big fire.
• Deuteronomy 29:23The whole land will become spoiled with salt and sulphur. No one will plant seed in it, because nothing will grow there. Even grass will not grow on it. The land will be useless, like the cities that the Lord destroyed when he was very angry with them. Those cities were Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim.
• Isaiah 13:19Yes, God will destroy Babylon, as he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Babylon has been a great and beautiful city. The people of the whole nation have been very proud of it. But God will still destroy it.
• Isaiah 30:33The Lord has already prepared a place to burn the bodies of the dead people. It is ready for the king of Assyria! There is a place for him that is deep and wide. There is plenty of wood for the fire. The Lord's breath will be like a stream of hot sulphur. He will breathe out on the heap of wood and the fire will burn!

Commentaries on Revelation 18:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9The kings of the earth - Those who copied her superstitions and adopted her idolatries.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And the kings of the earth - This verse commences the description of the lamentation over the fall of the mystical Babylon (see the Analysis of the chapter). Who have committed fornication - That is, who have been seduced by her from the true God, and have been led into practical idolatry. See the notes on Revelation 14:8. The kings of the earth seem to be represented as among the chief mourners, because they had derived important aid from the power which…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-19Verses 9-19 The mourners had shared Babylon's sensual pleasures, and gained by her wealth and trade. The kings of the earth, whom she flattered into idolatry, allowing them to be tyrannical over their subjects, while obedient to her; and the merchants, those who trafficked for her indulgences, pardons, and honours; these mourn. Babylon's friends partook her sinful pleasures and profits, but are not willing to share her plagues. The spirit of antichrist is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-10The kings of the world mourn the loss of the luxury they gained from their alliance with the wicked city.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. lived deliciously--Greek, "luxuriated." The faithless Church, instead of reproving, connived at the self-indulgent luxury of the great men of this world, and sanctioned it by her own practice. Contrast the world's rejoicing over the dead bodies of the two witnesses (Re 11:10) who had tormented it by their faithfulness, with its lamentations over the harlot who had made the way to heaven smooth, and had been found a useful tool in keeping subjects in…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 18:9

• Adultery

In the dictionaries

• Fill
• Foul
• Mighty
• Thy
• Crime; Crimes
• Deliciously
• Israel, History of
• Israel, Religion of
• Judges, Period of
• Lion

Commentaries on Revelation 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings