Devine Scripture

Revelation 18:22

What does Revelation 18:22 mean?

A plain-English look at Revelation 18:22 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Revelation 18:22 means

The sounds of joy and culture—harpers, minstrels, flute-players, trumpeters—will cease. So will the work of craftsmen of every kind, and even the hum of mills grinding grain. Music, artistry, industry, and daily provision all disappear. Judgment silences a city’s heartbeat. What made Babylon feel alive is stilled, revealing that her vitality depended on defiance of God. The verse emphasizes not only destruction but deprivation; nothing ordinary continues. This is not partial ruin but societal death. The arts and trades once enlisted to adorn pride now fall quiet under God’s hand. The silence itself becomes a testimony that God has spoken the final word.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee;

KJV

King James Version · 1611

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;

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee;

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And the voice of players and makers of music will never again be sounding in you: and no worker, expert in art, will ever again be living in you; and there will be no sound of the crushing of grain any more at all in you;

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

and voice of harpers, and musicians, and pipers, and trumpeters, may not be heard at all in thee any more; and any artisan of any art may not be found at all in thee any more; and noise of a millstone may not be heard at all in thee any more;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And the voice of harpers and of musicians and of them that play on the pipe and on the trumpet shall no more be heard at all in thee: and no craftsman of any art whatsoever shall be found any more at all in thee: and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in thee:

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

and voice of harp-singers and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters shall not be heard any more at all in thee, and no artificer of any art shall be found any more at all in thee, and voice of millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee,

Context

Following the millstone sign, the passage details the effects of Babylon’s fall with repetitive “no more” phrases. This verse covers music, craftsmanship, and basic industry, capturing culture, skill, and sustenance. The next verse will extend the silence to light and marriage celebrations, moving from public life to private joy. The steady accumulation of losses underscores that the judgment penetrates every layer of the city’s existence. The effect is to leave no ambiguity: Babylon’s story is over.

v.21And 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.

v.22This passage

v.23and the light of a lamp 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 princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.

Cross references

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

  • Ecclesiastes 12:4

    and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;

  • Jeremiah 33:11

    the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that say, Give thanks to Jehovah of hosts, for Jehovah is good, for his lovingkindness endureth for ever; and of them that bring sacrifices of thanksgiving into the house of Jehovah. For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first, saith Jehovah.

  • Jeremiah 16:9

    For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

  • Isaiah 24:8

    The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.

  • Jeremiah 7:34

    Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.

  • Jeremiah 25:10

    Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.

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