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Revelation 18:9-11
New Catholic Bible
Revelation 18:9-11
New Catholic Bible
Funereal Ode over Rome.[a] 9 “The kings of the earth who committed fornication with her and shared in her luxury will weep and mourn over her when they behold the smoke of her immolation. 10 In terror at her torment, they will keep their distance and say:
“ ‘Woe, woe, O great city,
mighty city of Babylon.
In one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, since no one buys their cargo anymore:
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Revelation 18:9 Drawing upon the laments of Ezekiel over the fall of Tyre (Ezek 26–28), the author greets the fall of Rome as already complete. This satire on the ruins of the empire also harbors, in its final lines, a tone of poignant complaint. The tableau nicely sketches the maritime grandeur of Rome, the development of commercial exchanges—without forgetting the traffic in slaves and prostitutes (v. 13)—and the extraordinary accumulation of riches.
