Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

Even quick reading of Eze 27 shows that John has in mind Ezekiel’s lamentation over the fall of ancient Tyre. Those who entered into fornication with the great mother prostitute wail over her destruction. John describes the end of the great symbol of evil, Babylon the Great.

First, the kings of the earth cry out their dirge (vv.9–10). There is a connection between their adultery with Babylon and their sharing of her luxury, as if sharing her luxury was part of their adultery (cf. Ezekiel 26:16; 27:30–35). So great is the heat and smoke of her burning that they must stand “far off” (v.10). Though ultimately the kings are all the heavenly powers that rule in the affairs of earthly kings and kingdoms (see comments on 17:10, 14; cf. 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8), here they are the princes who bewail the collapse of the last great city of humankind under Satan’s rule. The lament “Woe! Woe, O great city” (cf. 8:13; 9:12; 11:14; 12:12) is repeated three times in this part of the threnody over Babylon and reflects pain at the suddenness of her downfall (cf. vv.8, 17) and the emptiness of their own existence apart from her.

The merchants wail (vv.11–17). They have most to lose because Babylon the Great was built on luxury. The lists that follow are inventories of exotic items reminiscent of the great Oriental marketplaces. In v.13 “bodies and souls of men” requires special mention: “Bodies” (GK 5393) is a Greek idiom for slaves, while “souls” (GK 6034) means essentially persons. Thus the whole expression means “slaves, that is, human beings.” The refrain (v.16) also shows the blending of the prostitute image of ch. 17 (“dressed in fine linen,” etc.; cf. 17:4) and the city image of ch. 18 (“O great city”).

Finally, in vv.17–19 the sea captains and sailors add their lament because they too suffer irreparable loss because of the city’s burning (cf. Ezekiel 27:28). This language is more appropriate to Tyre as a great port city than to the inland city Rome (it had Ostia as its port). But again, John did not intend to describe any one city but the great harlot city, the archetype of all evil cities.