New International Version
Revelation 18:20
20“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”
Revelation 18:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes.
Context of Revelation 18:20
18When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ 19They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’ “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.” 21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again. 22The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.
Read all of Revelation 18Revelation 18:20 word by word
εὐφραίνου ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ, οὐρανὲ καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ὅτι ἔκρινεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ κρίμα ὑμῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Rejoiceεὐφραίνωeuphrainō · to celebrateG2165
- overἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- holyἅγιοςhagios · holy: saintG40
- apostlesἀπόστολοςapostolos · apostleG652
- prophetsπροφήτηςprophētēs · prophetG4396
- forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- hathκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
- avengedκρίμαkrima · judgmentG2917
- youσύsu · youG4771
- onἐκek ex · out fromG1537
Cross-references for Revelation 18:20
- Revelation 19:1After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
- Judges 5:31“So may all your enemies perish, Lord! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.” Then the land had peace forty years.
- Psalms 48:11Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.
- Psalms 58:10The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
- Psalms 96:11Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
- Psalms 107:42The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.
- Psalms 109:28While they curse, may you bless; may those who attack me be put to shame, but may your servant rejoice.
- Proverbs 11:10When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
- Isaiah 44:23Sing for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
- Isaiah 49:13Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
- Jeremiah 51:47For the time will surely come when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land will be disgraced and her slain will all lie fallen within her.
- Ephesians 2:20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
- Ephesians 3:5which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.
- Ephesians 4:11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
- 2 Peter 3:2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.
- Jude 1:17But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.
Commentaries on Revelation 18:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Rejoice over her, thou heaven - This is grand and sublime; the fall of this bad city was cause of grief to bad men. But as this city was a persecutor of the godly, and an enemy to the works of God, angels, apostles, and prophets are called to rejoice over her fall.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Rejoice over her - Over her ruin. There is a strong contrast between this language and what precedes. Kings, merchants, and seamen, who had been countenanced and sustained by her in the indulgence of corrupt passions, or who had been enriched by traffic with her, would have occasion to mourn. But not so they who had been persecuted by her. Not so the church of the redeemed. Not so heaven itself. The great oppressor of the church, and the corrupter of the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-24Verses 20-24 That which is matter of rejoicing to the servants of God on earth, is matter of rejoicing to the angels in heaven. The apostles, who are honoured and daily worshipped at Rome in an idolatrous manner, will rejoice in her fall. The fall of Babylon was an act of God's justice. And because it was a final ruin, this enemy should never molest them any more; of this they were assured by a sign. Let us take warning from the things which brought…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20The laments (Revelation 18:9–19) prompt a call for heaven to rejoice. The people of God should not grieve because the judgment was for them. They had suffered persecution from the evil forces symbolized by the great city.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. holy apostles--So C reads. But A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas read, "Ye saints and ye apostles." avenged you on her--Greek, "judged your judgment on (literally, exacting it from) her." "There is more joy in heaven at the harlot's downfall than at that of the two beasts. For the most heinous of all sin is the sin of those who know God's word of grace, and keep it not. The worldliness of the Church is the most worldly of all worldliness…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 18:20
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
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