For in one hour so great riches is come to naught. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
17. is come to nought ] Lit., is made desolate.
all the company in ships ] Read with R. V., and everyone that saileth any whither. The words will probably stand for the merchants travelling in ships with their own goods, which they intend to sell on arriving at their destination Lat. vectores.
sailors ] Cf. Eze 27:29 sqq.
trade by sea ] Lit., work the sea. The sense is more general than the A. V.: it will include all three classes, shipmasters, sailing merchants, and sailors.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For in one hour – In a very brief period – so short, that it seemed to them to be but one hour. In the prediction Rev 18:8, it is said that it would be in one day (see the notes on that place); here it is said that, to the on-lookers, it seemed to be but an hour. There is no inconsistency, therefore, between the two statements.
So great riches is come to nought – All the accumulated wealth of so great and rich a city. This should have been united with Rev 18:16, as it is a part of the lamentation of the merchants, and as the lamentation of the mariners commences in the other part of the verse. It is so divided in the Greek Testaments.
And every ship-master – This 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 – kubernetes – means, properly, a governor; then a governor of a ship – the steersman or pilot, Act 27:11.
And all the company in ships – Prof. Stuart renders this coasters. There is here, however, an important difference in the reading of the text. The commonly received text is, pas epi ton ploion ho homilos – the whole company in ships, as in our common version; the reading which is now commonly adopted, and which is found in Griesbach, Hahn, and Tittmann, is ho epi topon pleon – he who sails to a place; that is, he who sails from one place to another along the coast, or who does not venture out far to sea; and thus the phrase would denote a secondary class of sea-captains or officers – those less venturesome, or experienced, or bold than others. There can be little doubt that this is the correct reading (compare Wetatein, in loco); and hence the class of seamen here referred to 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 – notes on Rev 18:10.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 17. Every shipmaster] Captains of vessels; some think pilots are meant, and this is most likely to be the meaning of the original word . This description appears to be at least partly taken from Eze 27:26-28.
And all the company in ships] The crowd or passengers aboard. But the best MSS, and versions have , those who sail from place to place, or such as stop at particular places on the coast, without performing the whole voyage. This sufficiently marks the traffic on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Some might debark (in sailing from Rome) at the island of Sicily, others at different ports in Greece; some at Corinth, others at Crete, or the various islands of the AEgean Sea; some at Rhodes, Pamphylia, c., &c. as in those times in which the compass was unknown, every voyage was performed coastwise, always keeping, if possible, within sight of the land.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In one hour; that is, suddenly. The term denotes rather the surprisal of this judgment, than the short space of time within which it should be effected.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. is come to naughtGreek,“is desolated.”
shipmasterGreek,“steersman,” or “pilot.”
all the company in shipsA,C, Vulgate, and Syriac read, “Every one whosaileth to a place” (B has “. . . to the place”),every voyager. Vessels were freighted with pilgrims to variousshrines, so that in one month (A.D.1300) two hundred thousand pilgrims were counted in Rome [D’AAUBIGNE,Histoire de la Reformation]: a source of gain, not only to thePapal see, but to shipmasters, merchants, pilots, &c.These latter, however, are not restricted to those literally”shipmasters,” &c., but mainly refer, in the mysticalsense, to all who share in the spiritual traffic of apostateChristendom.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For in one hour so great riches is come to nought,…. That is, in a very short time, expressing the suddenness and speediness of Rome’s destruction, the quick dispatch and expedition that will be made in it, by the instruments of it, as in Re 18:10. Rome was always famous for its great wealth and riches; the Jews have a saying l, that if ten kabs of riches descend into the world, the ancient Romans take nine of them, and the other the whole world:
and every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off; the lamentation of the kings and merchants of the earth being ended, masters of ships, sailors, and seafaring men begin theirs: by “ships” are meant dioceses, abbeys, priories, and monasteries; and by the masters, or governors of them, bishops, abbots, priors, the heads of monasteries, and of the several orders of the Franciscans, Dominicans, c. and by “all the company in ships”, or “every shipmate”, the fellows that belong to every religious house and order and by “sailors” and “traders at sea”, all such who compass sea and land to make proselytes to the Romish religion, like the Pharisees of old, and who, as they, make them two fold more the children of hell than themselves; and, in general, these traders abroad may design the pope’s legates, sent by him into various parts, to collect his revenues, and the Jesuits, who are everywhere sent abroad to sow sedition and false doctrine, and the priests that travel about to sell pardons and indulgences: these
stood afar off; as the kings and merchants before, for fear of sharing in the condemnation and punishment of Babylon; knowing full well that they deserved it, having been associates with her in her crimes.
l T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 49. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Shipmaster (). Old word (from , to steer), helmsman, sailing-master, in N.T. only here and Ac 27:11. Subordinate to the (supreme commander).
That saileth any whither ( ). “The one sailing to a place.” See Ac 27:2, (those sailing down along Asia). Nestle suggests (sea) here for (place), but it makes sense as it is.
Mariners (). Old word (from , ship), in N.T. only here and Acts 27:27; Acts 27:30.
Gain their living by the sea ( ). “Work the sea.” This idiom is as old as Hesiod for sailors, fishermen, etc. See verses Rev 18:10; Rev 18:15.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Shipmaster [] . From kubernaw to govern. Strictly, steersman. Only here and Act 27:11.
All the company in ships [ ] . The best texts substitute oJ ejpi topon plewn, that saileth anywhere, lit., saileth to a place. So Rev.
Trade by sea [ ] . Lit., work the sea, like the Latin mare exercent, live by seafaring. Rev., gain their living by sea.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For in one hour,” (hoti mia hora) “Because in one hour,” almost suddenly, in a certain, specific period of limited time, Rev 18:17; Rev 18:19.
2) “So great riches is come to nought,” (eremothe ho tosoutos ploutos) “So much, such an abundance of wealth was desolated, made desolate,” without value, laid in ruins, as a silent sarcasm of continued collusion of men against the moral and ethical precepts of God; Jas 4:17; Pro 29:1.
3) “And every shipmaster,” (kai tas kubernetes) “And every steersman (shipmaster);” everyone controlling a ship; captains of commerce begin to cry when their consort city of trade in lust and idolatry is gone – – their God is helpless, Psa 115:3-9; Act 17:29-31.
4) “And, all the company sailing in ships,” (kai pas ho epi topon pleon) “And everyone (aboard) sailing to (any) place,” joined in mourning and weeping, Rev 18:9 — all passengers, tourists, and merchants.
5) “And sailors,” (kai nautai) “And every sailor; because even their cargo without a purchaser (by virtue of her destruction) would be worthless, left to decay, to rot.
6) “And as many as trade by sea,” (aki hosoi ten thalassan ergazontai) “And as many as work the sea,” as make their living by some type of sea-work; those enriched by trade for wicked purposes wept, because of their temporary business loss, to be much greater in soul loss. Mar 8:36-37.
7) “Stood afar off,” (apo makrathen estesan) “Stood from far away (a long distance off); repeatedly crying, weeping, not for their sins, but because their business had halted, Rev 22:11; Dan 12:10; 2Ti 3:13.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE LAMENT OF THE SHIPMASTERS (Rev. 18:17-19).On the whole passage read Eze. 27:32, &c.
(17, 18) And every shipmaster. . . .Or, better, And every shipmaster, and every one who sails for a place, and sailors, and all who work the sea, stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, Who is like the great city? With this expression compare the similar one applied to the beast (Rev. 13:4). It is the outcry of those who call to mind, with pain, a glory that was great, but now is gone. It is not to be taken as meaning what city has suffered as she has? but rather is it the recollection of her former splendourhow great she was. This lingering of the mind over delights now vanished is one subtle element of misery. So the hapless Francesca thought
There is no greater woe,
Than to remember days of happiness
Amid affliction. Inf. v. 121-3.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
17. Enumeration of the various marine mourners.
Shipmaster The helmsman who steered, and was, generally, also the ship captain.
Company in ships Literal Greek, every one sailing to a place; rendered by Alford, “Who saileth any whither.” Stuart renders the phrase, “Every coaster,” understanding those who do not put out to broad sea, but ply from place to place on the coast. They gathered, perhaps, the commodities to be shipped in larger craft to the metropolitan market.
Trade by sea Literal Greek, whoever work the sea; as if taking care, comprehensively, that all should be included.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And every ship’s captain, and everyone who sails anywhere, and seamen, and as many as gain their living by the sea, stood afar off, and cried out as they looked on the smoke of her burning, saying, “What city is like the great city?” And they threw dust on their heads and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city by means of whom were made rich all who had their ships in the sea as a result of her extravagance, for in one hour is she made desolate”.’
Here it those who benefited by her extravagance as seagoers who are now brought to the fore. In all these descriptions John is brilliantly bringing out two things. The fact that the woman lived so wantonly and in such luxury and godlessness, and has now been made desolate, and the total self-seeking of those who mourn her passing. We do not know which is worse. Here are men’s souls laid bare. This is the third repetition of the two woes which emphasises that they are to be seen as significant. We are intended to recognise that the third woe is just ahead, and it will encompass all who mourn here. (For such a scene compare Eze 27:29-30 spoken of the destruction of Tyre).
We note that there was no hint by the seafarers of criticism for the extravagance and behaviour of the city. Their concern is that it will affect the wealth of shipowners. The world is ever concerned about its wealth, not for what good they can do with it, but so that they may satisfy their own greed.
‘They stood afar off.’ They have left their ships to come and survey the city but they do not want to become involved. They watch the smoke of its burning from afar. Then they will leave shortly to turn their attention to trade elsewhere. Again it is emphasised how quickly her end had come. She had seemed so permanent that nothing could touch her, but as Nineveh, Babylon, Rome, Constantinople and many others discovered, in the end nothing is impregnable.
An interesting feature of these verses is in the tenses. The kings ‘ will weep and wail over her’ (future tense – v. 9), the merchants ‘ are weeping and wailing over her’ (present tense – v. 11) and the seafarers ‘ cried, weeping and wailing’ (past tense) . It is as though we see the scene being enacted and moving on before our eyes.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 18:17-19 . The lament of the shipmasters, which likewise contains the three points of Rev 18:9 sq. and Rev 18:11-16 : the standing afar off of those lamenting, the remembrance of the city’s former glory, and the cry of woe over its destruction.
On the preterite forms of statement ( , Rev 18:17 , , Rev 18:18-19 ), from which, however, according to the plan of the entire description, ch. 18. it is not to be inferred that John actually beheld the fall of the city, cf. on Rev 18:11 , and the preliminary note on ch. 18.
All classes of mariners are mentioned, just as, Rev 18:11 sqq., all classes of merchants were indicated: “pilots,” and , i.e., not exactly the “coasters,” [3990] but those who regularly sailed to a definite harbor; [3991] and , i.e., “mariners” in general; and, as it is finally said, “as many as work the sea,” i.e., all those for whom the sea is the sphere of their calling and the source of livelihood; fishermen also belong to this category. On the expression common in the classics, . , “to work the sea,” cf. many examples in Wetst.
. . Cf. Rev 18:9 .
The question of lamentation, ; is likewise a sarcastic allusion to the former self-deification of the metropolis of the empire. [3992]
, . . . Cf. Eze 27:30 . Concerning this sign of grief, cf. Winer, Rwb ., on the word.
, . . . The city was the place where all mariners with their manifold wares had found a rich and productive market; for, because of its precious treasures, [3993] the city was able to become the source of wealth to all dealers. ( .
. Cf. Rev 18:3 .
.) Cf. Rev 17:3 . [See Note LXXXIII., p. 449.]
[3990] De Wette.
[3991] Beng., Hengstenb., etc. Cf. Act 27:2 .
[3992] Cf. Rev 13:4 .
[3993] Cf. Rev 18:16 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
Ver. 17. So great riches come to nought ] Gr. , is desolated, or become a wilderness. Petrarch writeth, that in the treasury of Pope John XXII were found by his heirs two hundred and fifty tons of gold. And of Boniface VIII it is recorded that he was able to show more money than all the kings in Christendom.
And every ship master ] i.e. Cardinal, patriarch, archbishop, though but titular and imaginary, without jurisdiction, as are the patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, which the pope successively consecrates, ever since the Holy Land and the provinces about it were in the hands of Christian princes, A.D. 1100, so loth is the pope to lose the remembrance of any superiority or title that he hath once compassed. (Spec. Europ.)
And all the company ] The cardinals and archbishops’ train and retinue, those in office especially. What a pompous family kept Wolsey, consisting of one earl, nine barons, very many knights and esquires, and others, to the number of four hundred. (Rex Platen., p. 26.)
And sailors ] Bishops, abbots, priors, &c. In a parliament holden here at Leicester, A.D. 1413, in the reign of Henry V, a complaint was exhibited against the Popish clergy’s excess. This bill (saith E. Hall the chronicler) made the fat abbots to sweat, the proud priors to frown, the poor friars to curse, the silly nuns to weep, and all her merchants to fear that Babel would then down. But God’s time was not yet.
And as many as trade by the sea ] All the clergy, the Jesuits especially, without whose lusty help (saith Mr Brightman) St Peter’s fishing boat had stuck in the sand, and had rushed against the rocks long since.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17 19 .] The lamentation of the shipmasters, &c . And every pilot and every one who saileth any whither (the same expression, without the preposition, is found in Act 27:2 . The words here import, all sailors from place to place), and sailors and as many as make traffic of the sea ( . , ‘mare exercere,’ to live by seafaring, is abundantly illustrated by Wetst, from the classics and later writers), stood afar off, and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, Who is like to the great city? And they cast [ on ] earth upon their heads (see besides ref. Eze 27:30 ; also 1Sa 4:12 ; 2Sa 1:2 ; 2Sa 13:19 ; 2Sa 15:32 ; Job 2:12 ; Lam 2:10 ; and the numerous references in Winer, art. Trauer), and cried out weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in ( is ambiguous at first appearance: but from what follows it cannot be merely local, as E. V. “ wherein ,” but must be of the conditional element in which: “ whereby ” would more nearly give it in our idiom) which all who have their ships in the sea became rich out of her costliness (her costly treasures: concrete meaning for the abstract term): for in one hour she hath been laid waste .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 18:17 . . . . = “whose business is on the sea”. The passage reflects the importance of Rome especially for the trade of the Levant. Pliny ( H. N. vi. 101, xii. 84) gives the large figures of Oriental imports and their cost, adding sarcastically tanti nobis deliciae et feminae constant (Friedlnder, iii. 48 51). The regret of the mariners for the grandeur that was Rome passes rapidly into a sense of commercial loss.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
in one hour. See Rev 18:19.
come, &c As “made desolate”, Rev 18:18.
all . . . ships. The texts read “every one that saileth any whither”, indicating travellers of all kinds.
trade . . . sea. Literally work the sea, i.e. for a living.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
17-19.] The lamentation of the shipmasters, &c. And every pilot and every one who saileth any whither (the same expression, without the preposition, is found in Act 27:2. The words here import, all sailors from place to place), and sailors and as many as make traffic of the sea (. , mare exercere, to live by seafaring, is abundantly illustrated by Wetst, from the classics and later writers), stood afar off, and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, Who is like to the great city? And they cast [on] earth upon their heads (see besides ref. Eze 27:30; also 1Sa 4:12; 2Sa 1:2; 2Sa 13:19; 2Sa 15:32; Job 2:12; Lam 2:10; and the numerous references in Winer, art. Trauer), and cried out weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, in ( is ambiguous at first appearance: but from what follows it cannot be merely local, as E. V. wherein, but must be of the conditional element in which: whereby would more nearly give it in our idiom) which all who have their ships in the sea became rich out of her costliness (her costly treasures: concrete meaning for the abstract term): for in one hour she hath been laid waste.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rev 18:17. ) I was not right, I think, in disparaging this reading in my Apparatus.[204] It is supported by the best copies, and denotes indeed a class of men differing from pilots, to whom however it is subjoined, and from sailors, and from all, who trade by sea. Therefore must be he, who repeatedly directs his ship to one place, mart, or country. Others read, ; others, . The former reading arose from haste, as it seems; the latter from a paraphrase of the genuine reading.- ) is not only to effect anything by labour, but also, which is the meaning here, to be engaged upon, to have to do with. Thus LXX., , , , , , …
[204] Therefore it is preferred in the margin of Ed. II. and in Vers. Germ.-E. B.
ABCh Vulg. read (, B) . Rec. Text, without good authority, .-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
in one: Rev 18:10, Isa 47:9, Jer 51:8, Lam 4:6
And every: Rev 18:11, Isa 23:14, Eze 27:27-36, Jon 1:6
Reciprocal: Est 4:1 – and cried Job 6:21 – ye see Job 20:28 – increase Psa 107:23 – go down Isa 2:16 – the ships Isa 9:14 – in one day Isa 23:5 – so shall Jer 51:54 – General Lam 1:1 – How doth Eze 27:29 – all that handle Amo 5:5 – come Amo 6:3 – put Act 27:27 – the shipmen 1Co 1:28 – to bring 1Pe 1:7 – that Rev 14:7 – hour Rev 17:16 – and naked Rev 18:8 – shall her
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 18:17. One hour calls for the same comments that are offered at verse 10. The chapter as a whole is a vision in symbolic form, yet the institution of Babylon or Rome was so widespread, that it was logical to include many of the activities of the members of it. Hence the people interested in the traffic of the sea are brought into the picture, among those whose selfish practices were to be cut off by the downfall of the city.
Rev 18:18. What city is like means a general statement of her greatness as of the past, for now she is very low and worthless since she is being destroyed by fire.
Rev 18:19. There is not much change in the significance of the symbols of this verse. Casting dust on their heads was an ancient custom to give expression to feelings of mourning and dismay (Jos 7:6; Job 2:12; Lamentation 2:10). One hour is the same figurative phrase that is in verse 10. Made desolate means that Babylon the Great as the union of church and state was to be deserted and cease to be.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verses 17-19.
In continuation of this resplendent description verses seventeen through nineteen recorded the lamentations of the merchant–men because the luxuries and revenues in which they had shared had come to nought and were no more at all. In unison they cried: What city is like unto this great city . . . alas, alas, that great city . . . she is made desolate. Thus the traffickers of the heathen world lamented the ignominious end of the once glorious city of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The last sort of mourners for Babylon’s ruin are sailors and seamen; all spiritual seamen that have an oar in St. Peter’s boat shall lament greatly, whose life and livelihood did depend upon the merchant trade of that great city; these, though they stuck close to her, and trafficked with her in the day of her prosperity, yet now with the rest they stand afar off from her, lamenting her ruin, and their own loss, in the day when her desolation cometh.
And, as an evidence of the greatness of their sorrow and mourning, they are here said to cast dust on their heads; which amongst the ancients was used as a special token of extraordinary grief and sorrow, Job 2:13. In a time of deep affliction we may express our outward sorrows by our outward gestures: those mourners for Babylon express their sorrow for her and themselves, by casting dust upon their heads.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
18:17 {11} For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
(11) The manner of mourning used by them that trade by sea.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The first clause of this verse concludes the mourning of the merchants. It expresses the reason for their sorrow.
The second part of this verse begins the description of the mourning of sea people. The four groups of sea people represent helmsmen (Gr. kybrnetes), passengers (pas ho epi topon pleon), sailors (nautai), and those who work the sea (ten thalassan ergazontai) such as fishermen and divers for pearls. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 339.] These too stand at a distance watching the city burn. Perhaps these sea people are of special interest because they represent distributors of goods.