Revelation 18:6
in Revelation 18Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double.
KJV
Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
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This verse in Revelation 18
Commentary
12 notes on this verseTherefore he says that God, having been very patient, has now risen for retribution. He therefore tells her to render sins double, although through the all-wise Moses God commanded us that "one should not exact vengeance twice for the same thing." (see Deut. 32.41; Nahum …
This site's exposition
Give back to her
on Revelation 18:6-8
The measure is her own: mix her a double portion in her own cup, the rule of Galatians 6:7. Her boast, I am not a widow, echoes the first Babylon in Isaiah 47:7-9, where widowhood and the loss of children arrive on one day.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Now, brothers, you see the saints armed. Observe the slaughter, observe their glorious battles.… What have these done who had in their hands swords sharpened on both sides? "To do vengeance on the nations." See whether vengeance has not been done on the nations. Daily is it done; we do it ourselves by speaking. Observe how the nations of Babylon are slain. She is repaid twofold.… How is she repaid double? The saints wage war, they draw their "swords twice sharpened." From there come defeats, slaughters, severances. How is she repaid double? When she had the power to persecute the Christians, she slew the flesh indeed, but she crushed not God. Now she is repaid double, for the pagans are extinguished and the idols are broken.… And lest you should think that people are really smitten with the sword, blood really shed, wounds made in the flesh, he goes on and explains "chastisements on the peoples." What is "chastisements"? Reproof. Let the two-edged sword go forth from you. Do not delay. Say to your friend, if you have yet a friend [among the pagans] left to whom to say it, "What kind of man are you, who have abandoned him by whom you were made, and worship what he made? Better is the workman than that which he makes." When he begins to blush, when he begins to feel compunction, you have made a wound with your sword, it has reached his heart, he is about to die that he may live.
A commentator
Primasius of HadrumetumCOMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 18:6-8 · Written before 560.
proposed
All of these future events are appropriate for the second advent, when upon the inquiry of the final judgment the society of the impious will be excluded and will suffer its just reward, so that those who sinned in time might be punished in perpetuity. …
The Medieval Church3 voices
These words may refer to those who, although innocent in [Babylon], yet suffered the most terrible things at the hands of those who ruled her and through their endurance of these agonies were the reason for the punishment of their tormentors. Or these words may …
Repay her as she has repaid you. For visible and invisible plagues come forth from the Church into the world.
And repay her double according to her works. So that she who enjoyed temporal pleasures may be tormented with eternal pains.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Reward her - This God speaks to the executioners of his vengeance. Even as she hath rewarded - Others; in particular, the saints of God. And give her double - This, according to the Hebrew idiom, implies only a full retaliation.
Reward her even as she rewarded you,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Addressed to the executioners of God's wrath. Reward--Greek, "repay." she rewarded--English Version reading adds "you" with none of the oldest manuscripts.
Reward her even as she rewarded you - These words are a prophetic declaration of what shall take place: God will deal with her as she dealt with others.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Reward her even as she rewarded you - It is not said to whom this command is addressed, but it would seem to be to those who had been persecuted and wronged. Applied to mystical Babylon - papal Rome - it would seem to be a call on the nations that had been so long under her sway, and among whom, from time to time, so much blood had been shed by her, to arise now in their might, and to inflict deserved vengeance. See the notes on Rev 17:16-17. And double unto her double according to her works - That is, bring upon her double the amount of calamity which she has brought upon others; take ample vengeance upon her. Compare for similar language, Isa 40:2, “She hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” “For your shame ye shall have double,” Isa 61:7. In the cup which she hath filled - To bring wrath on others. See the notes at Rev 14:8. Fill to her double - Let her drink abundantly of the wine of the wrath of God - double what she has dealt out to others. That is, either let the quantity administered to her be doubled, or let the ingredients in the cup be doubled in intensity.
The words behind it
22 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀπόδοτε | apodote | do give back | G591 → | 48 times |
| αὐτῇ | autea | to her | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὡς | hos | as | G5613 → | 500 times |
| καὶ | kai | also | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| αὐτὴ | aute | she | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἀπέδωκεν | apedoken | has rendered | G591 → | 48 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| διπλώσατε | diplosate | do pay back double | G1363 → | |
| τὰ | ta | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| διπλᾶ | dipla | twofold | G1362 → | |
| κατὰ | kata | according to | G2596 → | 468 times |
| τὰ | ta | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἔργα | erga | works | G2041 → | 168 times |
| αὐτῆς. | autes | of her. | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐν | en | In | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῷ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ποτηρίῳ | poterio | cup | G4221 → | 31 times |
| ᾧ | ho | which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἐκέρασεν, | ekerasen | she has mixed, | G2767 → | 3 times |
| κεράσατε | kerasate | do mix | G2767 → | 3 times |
| αὐτῇ | autea | to her | G846 → | 5565 times |
| διπλοῦν. | diploun | double. | G1362 → |
ἀπόδοτεdo give back
apodoteG591 →48 times
αὐτῇto her
auteaG846 →5565 times
ὡςas
hosG5613 →500 times
καὶalso
kaiG2532 →9120 times
αὐτὴshe
auteG846 →5565 times
ἀπέδωκενhas rendered
apedokenG591 →48 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
διπλώσατεdo pay back double
diplosateG1363 →
τὰthe
taG3588 →19766 times
διπλᾶtwofold
diplaG1362 →
κατὰaccording to
kataG2596 →468 times
τὰthe
taG3588 →19766 times
ἔργαworks
ergaG2041 →168 times
αὐτῆς.of her.
autesG846 →5565 times
ἐνIn
enG1722 →2738 times
τῷthe
toG3588 →19766 times
ποτηρίῳcup
poterioG4221 →31 times
ᾧwhich
hoG3739 →1405 times
ἐκέρασεν,she has mixed,
ekerasenG2767 →3 times
κεράσατεdo mix
kerasateG2767 →3 times
αὐτῇto her
auteaG846 →5565 times
διπλοῦν.double.
diplounG1362 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 16:19The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His…
it leads to
- Revelation 17:18
And the woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
- Revelation 18:5
For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
- Revelation 18:10
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
- Revelation 18:21
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…
- Revelation 17:18
Through
Jeremiah 51:24Before your very eyes I will repay Babylon and all the dwellers of Chaldea for all the evil they have done in Zion,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:15
Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD,…
- Jeremiah 50:15
Through
Jeremiah 50:15Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:58
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will…
- Jeremiah 51:58
Through
Jeremiah 50:29Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:56
For a destroyer is coming against her—against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will repay in full.
- Isaiah 47:10
You were secure in your wickedness; you said, ‘No one sees me.’ Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray; you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
- Jeremiah 51:56
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Revelation

This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 18:6-8; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATION OF PSALM 149.9; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation and Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 18:6-8.
