Devine Scripture

Revelation 18:15

What does Revelation 18:15 mean?

A plain-English look at Revelation 18:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Revelation 18:15 means

Those who became rich through Babylon’s luxuries now stand at a safe distance, afraid of sharing her torment. They weep and mourn, but self-preservation keeps them from drawing near. Their grief is transactional, like their former gains—intense, but bounded by fear. This reveals the hollowness of Babylon’s alliances: when the feast ends, the partners scatter. Prosperity without righteousness breeds relationships of convenience, not covenant. The merchants’ distance mirrors the kings’ earlier stance. They cannot help Babylon, and they will not join her. Their mourning acknowledges loss, but not guilt. Judgment exposes both the fragility of their ties and the poverty of their comfort.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;

KJV

King James Version · 1611

The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

The traders in these things, by which their wealth was increased, will be watching far off for fear of her punishment, weeping and crying;

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, far off shall stand because of the fear of her torment, weeping, and sorrowing,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

The merchants of these things, who were made rich, shall stand afar off from her, for fear of her torments, weeping and mourning,

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

The merchants of these things, who had been enriched through her, shall stand afar off through fear of her torment, weeping and grieving,

Context

Picking up from verse 14’s declaration of loss, this verse resumes the merchants’ posture: afar off, fearful, and grieving. The pattern echoes the kings’ lament, underscoring shared complicity and cowardice across the elite. The next verse will repeat their cry and recall Babylon’s splendor, making the contrast between past luxury and present ruin more vivid. The structure reinforces the chapter’s theme of sudden reversal: those who once ran toward Babylon now retreat from her, fearing the same fate.

v.14And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all.

v.15This passage

v.16saying, Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearl!

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Zechariah 11:5

    whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.

  • Acts 16:19

    But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers,

  • Revelation 18:3

    For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness.

  • Mark 11:17

    And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers.

  • Judges 18:23

    And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?

  • Acts 19:24

    For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen;

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