Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 18:17

"for in an hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any wither, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood afar off," — Revelation 18:17 (ASV)

For in one hour. This means in a very brief period—so short that it seemed to them to be but one hour. In the prediction in Revelation 18:8, it is said that it would be in one day; here it is said that to the onlookers it seemed to be but one hour. Therefore, there is no inconsistency between the two statements.

So great riches is come to nought. This refers to all the accumulated wealth of so great and rich a city. This phrase should have been united with Revelation 18:16, as it is a part of the lamentation of the merchants, and the lamentation of the mariners commences in the other part of the verse. It is divided this way in the Greek Testaments.

And every ship-master. This phrase introduces the lamentation of the mariners, who would, of course, be deeply interested in the destruction of a city with which they had been accustomed to trade, and by carrying merchandise to which they had been enriched. The word ship-master—kubernhthv—means, properly, a governor; then a governor of a ship—the steersman, or pilot (Acts 27:11).

And all the company in ships. Professor Stuart renders this as coasters. However, there is an important difference in the reading of the text here. The commonly received text is pav epi twn ploiwn o omilov—“the whole company in ships,” as in our common version. The reading now commonly adopted, which is found in Griesbach, Hahn, and Tittman, is o eti topon plewn—“he who sails to a place.”

This latter reading means one who sails from one place to another along the coast, or who does not venture far out to sea. Thus, the phrase would denote a secondary class of sea-captains or officers—those less venturesome, experienced, or bold than others. There can be little doubt that this is the correct reading (Compare Wetstein, in loco), and hence the class of seamen referred to here is coasters. Such seamen would naturally be employed where there was a great and luxurious maritime city and would have a deep interest in its fall.

And sailors. Common seamen.

And as many as trade by sea. In any kind of craft, whether employed in a near or a remote trade.

Stood afar off. See the comments on Revelation 18:10.