Revelation 18 · Verse 11

Revelation 18:11

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

Revelation 18:11, King James Version

Revelation 18:11 in other translations

BSB	And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—
WEB	The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise any more:
ASV	And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more;
YLT	‘And the merchants of the earth shall weep and sorrow over her, because their lading no one doth buy any more;
DARBY	And the merchants of the earth weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their lading any more;
BBE	And the traders of the earth are weeping and crying over her, because no man has any more desire for their goods,
Webster	And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

What does Revelation 18:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

11. shall--So. B. But A and C read the present, "weep and mourn." merchandise--Greek, "cargo": wares carried in ships: ship-lading (compare Re 18:17). Rome was not a commercial city, and is not likely from her position to be so. The merchandise must therefore be spiritual, even as the harlot is not literal, but spiritual. She did not witness against carnal luxury and pleasure-seeking, the source of the merchants' gains, but conformed to them (Re 18:7). She cared not for the sheep, but for the wool. Professing Christian merchants in her lived as if this world not heaven, were the reality, and were unscrupulous as to the means of getting gain. Compare Notes, see on Zec 5:4-11, on the same subject, the judgment on mystical Babylon's merchants for unjust gain. All the merchandise here mentioned occurs repeatedly in the Roman Ceremonial.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 11. And the merchants of the earth. Who have been accustomed to traffic with her, and who have been enriched by the traffic. The image is that of a rich and splendid city. Of course, such a city depends much on its merchandise; and when it declines and falls, many who had been accustomed to deal with it as merchants or traffickers are affected by it, and have occasion to lament its fall.

Shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more. The merchandise which they were accustomed to take to the city, and by the sale of which they lived. The enumeration of the articles of merchandise which follows, seems to have been inserted for the purpose of filling out the representation of what is usually found in such a city, and to show the desolation which would occur when this traffic was suspended.

(c) "merchants" Eze 27:27-36

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 11 The merchants of the earth - These are represented as mourning over her, because their traffic with her was at an end. Bishop Bale, who applies all these things to the Church of Rome, thus paraphrases the principal passages: - The mighty kinges and potentates of the earth, not havinge afore their eyes the love and feare of God, have committed with this whore moste vile filthynesse; abusinge themselves by many straunge or uncommaunded worshippings, and bynding themselves by othe to observe hyr lawes and customs. At the examples, doctrines, counsels, and perswasions of hyr holy whoremongers, have they broken the covenaunts of peace; battailed, oppressed, spoyled, ravished, tyrannously murthered innocents; yea, for vain foolish causes, and more vaine titles, as though there were neither heaven nor hel, God nor accounts to be made. "And her mitred marchantes, hyr shorne souldiers, hir massemongers, hyr soulesellers, and hir martbrokers, waxed very riche, through the sale of hir oyles, creme, salt, water, bread, orders, hallowings, houselinges, ashes, palme, waxe, frankensence, beades, crosses, candlesticks, copes, belles, organes, images, reliques, and other pedlary wares. "They have gotten in unto them pallaces and princely houses, fat pastors and parkes, meadowes and warrens, rivers and pondes, villages and towns, cities and whole provinces, with the divill and all els; besides other men's wives, daughters, mayde servantes, and children, whom they have abhominably corrupted. What profites they have drawen unto them also by the sale of great bishopricks, prelacies, promocions, benefices, tot quoties, pardons, pilgrymages, confessions, and purgatory; besides the yearely rents of cathedrall churches, abbayes, colleges, covents, for sutes and suche other. - Specially shal they be sore discontented with the matter, which have with hir committed the whordom of the spyrite, by many externe worshipings of drye waffer cakes, oyles, roods, relyques, ladyes, images, sculles, bones, chippes, olde ragges, showes, (shoes), bootes, spurres, hattes, breches, whodes, night capes, and such like. "And they that have lived wantonly with hir, (Rev 18:9), in following hir idle observacions, in mattenses, houres, and masses; in sensinges, halowings, and font halowing; in going processions with canapye, crosse, and pyx; with banneres, stremers, and torche light; with such other gaudes to folish for children. "Alas, alas, that great cyty (Rev 18:10) that beautiful Babilon, that blessed holy mother the Church, which somtime had so many popes pardons, so many bishoppes blessinges, so many holye stations, so many cleane remissions a pena et culpa, so many good ghostly fathers, so many religious orders, so much holy water for spirites, and Saint John's gospel, with the five woundes and the length of our Lord for drowning, is nowe decayed for ever! 'Alas, alas, who shall pray for us now? Who shall singe dirges and trentoles? Who shal spoile us of our sinnes? Who shal give us ashes and palmes? Who shal blesse us with a spade, and singe us out of purgatory when we are deade? If we lacke these things we are like to want heaven. These are the desperate complaints of the wicked."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Revelation 18:9-19

The mourners had shared Babylon's sensual pleasures, and gained by her wealth and trade. The kings of the earth, whom she flattered into idolatry, allowing them to be tyrannical over their subjects, while obedient to her; and the merchants, those who trafficked for her indulgences, pardons, and honours; these mourn. Babylon's friends partook her sinful pleasures and profits, but are not willing to share her plagues…

Read the full comment on Revelation 18:9-19 →

Revelation 18:11 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532

οἱhoitheG3588

ἔμποροιemporoimerchantsG1713

τῆςtēsof theG3588

γῆςgēsearthG1093

κλαίουσινklaiousinweepG2799

καὶkaiandG2532

πενθοῦσινpenthousinthey mournG3996

ἐπ᾽ep᾽forG1909

αὐτήν,autēnher,G846

ὅτιhotibecauseG3754

τὸνtontheG3588

γόμονgomoncargoG1117

αὐτῶνautōnof themG846

οὐδεὶςoudeisno [one]G3762

ἀγοράζειagorazeibuysG59

οὐκέτι·ouketino longerG3756

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Revelation 18:11

Revelation 18:3
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Revelation 18:23
And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
Ezekiel 27:27-36
Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land; And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: …
Ezekiel 26:17-21
And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. For thus saith the Lord God; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; …
Revelation 13:16-17
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Revelation 18:15
The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
Revelation 18:20
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Zephaniah 1:11
Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
Isaiah 23:1-15
The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. …
2 Peter 2:3
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
Isaiah 47:15
Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.
Zephaniah 1:18
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

the merchants.
3,9,15,20,23; 13:16,17; Isa 23:1-15; 47:15
Eze 26:17-21; 27:27-36; Zep 1:11,18
buyeth.
Pr 3:14; Mt 22:5; Joh 2:16; 2Pe 2:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Revelation 18:10
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.
Revelation 18:11
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Revelation 18:12
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

Read all of Revelation 18

Revelation 18:11 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y los mercaderes de la tierra lloran y se lamentan sobre ella, porque ninguno compra más sus mercaderías:
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et les marchands de la terre pleurent et mènent deuil sur elle, parce que personne n’achète plus leur marchandise,
German Elberfelder 1871	Und die Kaufleute der Erde weinen und trauern über sie, weil niemand mehr ihre Ware kauft:
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et negotiatores terræ flebunt, et lugebunt super illam: quoniam merces eorum nemo emet amplius: