Revelation 18:10

18:10 With a terrified sense of separation and abandonment (see 18:15, 17), the kings stand at a distance in a futile attempt to avoid punishment.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rev 18:10. Βαβυλὼν ἡ πόλις ἡ ἰσχυρά, Babylon the strong city) Illa civitas Valida, Tertull. de Cultu Fœm. c. 12. Ῥώμη, strength. The earlier inhabitants had called it Valentia, the Greek settlers, Rome. You may also refer עצומים, the strong, Isa 53:12, to the name of Rome. The place, as expressing a mark, is much stronger in the writings of the prophets than of the philosophers. In like manner, chariots and axes (πεπελεκισμένων, “beheaded with an axe”), peculiarly characteristic of the Romans, are specified, Rev 18:13, ch. Rev 20:4.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

God's judgments inspire fear even in the worldly, but it is of short duration, for the kings and great men soon attach themselves to the beast in its last and worst shape, as open Antichrist, claiming all that the harlot had claimed in blasphemous pretensions and more, and so making up to them for the loss of the harlot.

mighty--Rome in Greek means strength; though that derivation is doubtful.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. Standing afar off] Beholding her desolations with wonder and astonishment, utterly unable to afford her any kind of assistance.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. for the fear] i.e. because of their fear. Their regret for her destruction is sincere, but does not make them forget themselves.

Alas, alas] The interjection is the same as is elsewhere rendered “Woe.” So in Rev_18:16.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment,.... Lest they themselves should share in it, who have partook of her sins; either they will not be in a capacity to help her, or they will be dispirited, and will be in awe and dread of God's righteous judgments:

saying, alas! alas! that great city Babylon! that mighty city! it will aggravate their sorrow, when they reflect upon the former grandeur, magnificence, power, and authority, of the city and see of Rome, so often called in this book the great city; and so it is by other writers; the Jews call it so: they say (c), when the Messiah comes,

"the kings of the world shall be gathered to , "the great city" of Rome; and the holy blessed God will cast upon them fire and hail, and great hail stones, (with which compare Rev 16:21), and they shall perish from the world, except those kings that do not come there.''

It is common with the Jewish writers to call the Roman empire Edom; and Magdiel, one of the dukes of Edom, Gen 36:43 who has his name from "greatness", is interpreted by one of their commentators (d) of Rome; the reason of which, another of them says (e), is because Rome is become great above all kingdoms: the mount of Esau in Oba 1:21 is interpreted , "that great city" of Esau, which is Rome (f), and the same epithet it has in the Talmud (g); and Porphyry calls it , "that great city", without making mention of its name, as here; so among the Latins (h), "Magnoe spes altera" Romae:

for in one hour is thy judgment come: the Ethiopic version reads, "the hour of her judgment"; the time of her punishment fixed by God; but the sense is, that her vengeance was suddenly come upon her; this is the judgment of the great whore, which the angel proposed to show to John, Rev 17:1.

(c) Zohar in Gen. fol. 74. 3. (d) Jarchi in Gen. xxxvi. 43. (e) Abarbinel in Dan. fol. 42. 3. (f) Jarchi in Obadiah, ver. 21. (g) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 2. (h) Servius in Virgil, Eclog. 6. p. 67.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Ver. 10. Standing afar off] As fearing their own safety, they will not venture themselves for an old withered harlot, that is now (Lais-like) ready to be extinct in the last act of her uncleanness, Λαις τελευτωσ’ απεθανε βινουμενη. (Athenaeus, xiii.)

For in one hour] God will make short work of it when once he begins, Rom 9:28. This should be an encouragement to Christian princes and states, to set upon the service. The pirates’ war was incredibili celeritate et temporis brevitate confectum, saith Austin, soon despatched; so shall this. Papists vaunt now of their temporal felicity, as a note of their Church, and make catalogues of the strange victories that the Catholics have had. Bellarmine brags, that vix unquam fuerunt haeretici superiores quando iusto proelio dimicatum est (tom. ii. lib. 4, cap. 14), the heretics scarcely ever had the day when it came to be tried in a just battle. But if all this had been true (as it is not), yet at last, in one hour shall their judgment come. See Rev 18:19; Rev 18:22. {See Trapp on "Rev 18:19"} {See Trapp on "Rev 18:22"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment - Not daring to approach, to attempt to rescue and save her. They who had so long contributed to the support of the papal power, and who had, in turn, been upheld by that, would not now even attempt to rescue her, but would stand by and see her destroyed, unable to render relief.

Alas, alas, that great city Babylon - The language of lamentation that so great and so mighty a city should fall.

For in one hour is thy judgment come - See the notes on Rev 18:8. The general sentiment here is, that, in the final ruin of papal Rome, the kings and governments that had sustained her, and had been sustained by her, would see the source of their power taken away, but that they would not, or could not attempt her rescue. There have been not a few indications already that this will ultimately occur, and that the papal power will be left to fall, without any attempt, on the part of those governments which have been so long in alliance with it, to sustain or restore it.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Alas! Alas! St. Augustine informs us, that the people of the eastern provinces, and the remotest cities, mourned in a public manner on this occasion. (De Civ. Dei. lib. 1, chap. xxxiii.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

As well as they loved her, they will not come nigh her in the time of her torments; the fire will be too hot for them, they will only stand aloof off, and pity her, that so great and brave a city should be so suddenly ruined; such a gay and splendid church, so politicly founded and put together, should be in a sudden so broken to pieces.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying. Unconsciously acting upon the command in ver. 4, "Come out of her... that ye receive not of her plagues." Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come; Woe, woe, the great city. (cf. the previous declaration of woe in Rev_8:13) In one hour (cf. ver. 8). Some writers understand the "one hour" to refer to the space of time during which the kings rule; (see Rev_17:12) but a comparison with ver. 8 leads to the conclusion that the meaning is "suddenly;" the contrast in a short time between the two positions of Babylon enhancing the fearfulness of the visitation.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou strong city - Rome was anciently termed by its inhabitants, Valentia, that is, strong. And the word Rome itself, in Greek, signifies strength. This name was given it by the Greek strangers.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Babylon

(See Scofield "Isa 13:1"), note 2.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. Standing afar off. The picture represents these mourners looking from a great distance, afraid to approach nearer. For in one hour is thy judgment come. It has come suddenly.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

10. διὰ τὸν φόβον, i.e. because of their fear. Their regret for her destruction is sincere, but does not make them forget themselves.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.