Revelation 18 · Verse 21

Revelation 18:21

And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Revelation 18:21, King James Version

Revelation 18:21 in other translations

BSB	Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.
WEB	A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and will be found no more at all.
ASV	And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.
YLT	And one strong messenger did take up a stone as a great millstone, and did cast it to the sea, saying, ‘Thus with violence shall Babylon be cast, the great city, and may not be found any more at all;
DARBY	And a strong angel took up a stone, as a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall Babylon the great city be cast down, and shall be found no more at all;
BBE	And a strong angel took up a stone like the great stone with which grain is crushed, and sent it into the sea, saying, So, with a great fall, will Babylon, the great town, come to destruction, and will not be seen any more at all.
Webster	And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be no more found.

What does Revelation 18:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

21. a--Greek, "one." millstone--Compare the judgment on the Egyptian hosts at the Red Sea, Ex 15:5, 10; Ne 9:11, and the foretold doom of Babylon, the world power, Jr 51:63, 64. with violence--Greek, "with impetus." This verse shows that this prophecy is regarded as still to be fulfilled.

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

Barnes' Notes

Verse 21. And a mighty angel. Barnes on "Re 18:1" This seems, however, to have been a different angel from the one mentioned in Rev 18:1, though, like that, he is described as having great power.

Took up a stone like a great millstone. On the structure of mills among the ancients, Mt 24:41.

And cast it into the sea. As an emblem of the utter ruin of the city; an indication that the city would be as completely destroyed as that stone was covered by the waters.

Saying, Thus with violence. With force--as the stone was thrown into the sea. The idea is, that it would not be by a gentle and natural decline, but by the application of foreign power. This accords with all the representations in this book, that violence will be employed to overthrow the Papal power. See Rev 17:16-17. The origin of this image is probably Jer 51:63-64: "And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and east it into the midst of Euphrates; and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her."

(a) "Thus with violence" Jer 51:64

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21 Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down - This action is finely and forcibly expressed by the original words: Οὑτως ὁρμηματι βληθησεται Βαβυλων ἡ μεγαλη πολις. The millstone will in falling have not only an accelerated force from the law of gravitation, but that force will be greatly increased by the projectile force impressed upon it by the power of the destroying angel. Shall be found no more at all - In her government, consequence, or influence. This is true of ancient Babylon; we are not certain even of the place where it stood. It is also true of Jerusalem; her government, consequence, and influence are gone. It is not true of Rome pagan; nor, as yet, of Rome papal: the latter still exists, and the former is most intimately blended with it; for in her religions service Rome papal has retained her language, and many of her heathen temples has she dedicated to saints real or reputed, and incorporated many of her superstitions and absurdities in a professedly Christian service. It is true also that many idols are now restored under the names of Christian saints!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Revelation 18:20-24

That which is matter of rejoicing to the servants of God on earth, is matter of rejoicing to the angels in heaven. The apostles, who are honoured and daily worshipped at Rome in an idolatrous manner, will rejoice in her fall. The fall of Babylon was an act of God's justice. And because it was a final ruin, this enemy should never molest them any more; of this they were assured by a sign. Let us take warning from the…

Read the full comment on Revelation 18:20-24 →

Revelation 18:21 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

ἦρενērentook upG142

εἷςheisoneG1520

ἄγγελοςangelosangelG32

ἰσχυρὸςischurosa mightyG2478

λίθονlithonstoneG3037

ὡςhōslikeG5613

μύλινονmulinona millstone

μέγανmegangreatG3173

καὶkaiandG2532

ἔβαλενebalencast [it]G906

εἰςeisintoG1519

τὴνtēntheG3588

θάλασσανthalassanseaG2281

λέγων·legōnsaying:G3004

οὕτωςhoutōsThusG3779

ὁρμήματιhormēmatiwith violenceG3731

βληθήσεταιblēthēsetaiwill be cast downG906

ΒαβυλὼνBabulōnBabylonG897

ἡhētheG3588

μεγάληmegalēgreatG3173

πόλιςpoliscityG4172

καὶkaiandG2532

οὐoucertainlyG3756

μὴmēnotG3361

εὑρεθῇheurethēamay be foundG2147

ἔτι.etiany longer.G2089

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

Cross references for Revelation 18:21

Jeremiah 51:63-64
And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
Ezekiel 26:21
I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God.
Revelation 5:2
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
Revelation 12:8
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Job 20:8
He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
Daniel 11:19
Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
Revelation 20:11
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Revelation 16:20
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Revelation 18:22
And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
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.
Exodus 15:5
The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Nehemiah 9:11
And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

a mighty.This was to represent the violence of her fall, and that she should never rise again; which is further illustrated by varied emphatic expressions taken from the ancient prophets. But Rome is still standing and flourishing, and honoured by many nations as the metropolis of the Christian world; she still resounds with singers and musicians; she still excels in arts, which serve for pomp and luxury; she still abounds with candles, and lamps, and torches, burning even by day, as well as by night; and consequently this prophecy has not been, but remains to fulfilled.
Thus.
Ex 15:5; Ne 9:11; Jer 51:63,64
and shall.
22; 12:8; 16:20; 20:11; Job 20:8; Ps 37:36; Eze 26:21; Da 11:19

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

Context

Revelation 18:20
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
Revelation 18:21
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
Revelation 18:22
And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

Read all of Revelation 18

Revelation 18:21 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y un ángel fuerte tomó una piedra como una grande piedra de molino, y la echó en la mar, diciendo: Con tanto ímpetu será derribada Babilonia, aquella grande ciudad, y nunca jamás será hallada.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et un ange puissant leva une pierre, comme une grande meule, et la jeta dans la mer, disant: Ainsi sera jetée avec violence Babylone la grande ville, et elle ne sera plus trouvée.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und ein starker Engel hob einen Stein auf wie einen großen Mühlstein und warf ihn ins Meer und sprach: Also wird Babylon, die große Stadt, mit Gewalt niedergeworfen und nie mehr gefunden werden.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et sustulit unus angelus fortis lapidem quasi molarem magnum, et misit in mare, dicens: Hoc impetu mittetur Babylon civitas illa magna, et ultra jam non invenietur.