English Standard Version
Revelation 18:9
9And 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.
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.
- 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,
- New Living Translation (NLT)And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.
Context of Revelation 18:9
7As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.' 8For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her." 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. 10They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come." 11And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore,
Read all of Revelation 18Revelation 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 18:3For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living."
- Revelation 17:2with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk."
- Revelation 18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"
- Psalms 58:10The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Jeremiah 50:46At the sound of the capture of Babylon the earth shall tremble, and her cry shall be heard among the nations."
- Ezekiel 26:16Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you.
- Ezekiel 32:9"I will trouble the hearts of many peoples, when I bring your destruction among the nations, into the countries that you have not known.
- Daniel 4:14He proclaimed aloud and said thus: 'Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches.
- Zechariah 11:2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, for the glorious trees are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has been felled!
- Revelation 18:18and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?"
- Revelation 14:11And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."
- Revelation 19:3Once more they cried out, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever."
- Genesis 19:28And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
- Deuteronomy 29:23the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath—
- Isaiah 13:19And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.
- Isaiah 30:33For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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