John Gill Commentary Revelation 18:5

John Gill Commentary

Revelation 18:5

1697–1771
Reformed Baptist
John Gill
John Gill

John Gill Commentary

Revelation 18:5

1697–1771
Reformed Baptist
SCRIPTURE

"for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." — Revelation 18:5 (ASV)

For her sins have reached to heaven
Or "have followed to heaven"; one after another, in one age after another, until they have been as it were heaped up together, and have reached the heavens; the phrase denotes the multitude of them, God's knowledge and notice of them, and the cry of them to him; see (Genesis 18:20) (Jonah 1:2)

The Alexandrian copy and Complutensian edition read, "have cleaved", or "glued", and so the Syriac and Arabic versions seem to have read; her sins were as it were soldered together, and stuck fast to her, and being joined and linked together, made a long chain, and reached to heaven, and cleaved to that, and cried for vengeance:

and God has remembered her iniquities ;
and is about to punish her for them; for as forgiveness of sin is signified by a non-remembrance of it, so punishment of sin by a remembrance of it, and of the persons that commit it; see (Revelation 16:19) .