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Revelation 18:9

in Revelation 18

Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning,

KJV

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

This verse in Revelation 18

Commentary

10 notes on this verse

A commentator

Caesarius of Arles

EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 18:9-10, HOMILY 16 · Written before 542.

With this repentance, the kings are not bewailing the evil of wealth, because they sinned with [the harlot]. Rather, they recognize that they are losing the prosperity of the world through which they became subject to its pleasures. Or, since those things in it were …

This site's exposition

lived in luxury with her

on Revelation 18:9-10

The kings watch her burn and stand at a distance, fearing her torment. Their cry, Woe, woe to the great city, is the first of three laments, in the dirge form Ezekiel used over Tyre in Ezekiel 26-27.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

How in various ways and vividly he wove the lament over it and the height of mourning. And since almost everything is clear, if anything alone seems difficult, having noted it in passing let us proceed to the rest.

The Medieval Church3 voices

A commentator

Andreas of Caesarea

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 18:9-10 · Written before 614.

proposed

We think that in this passage the "kings" refer to the rulers, as the psalmist said concerning Jerusalem, "Behold, her kings have assembled." It says that those who committed fornication in her against the divine commandments will weep, since they see or hear of her …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

And the kings of the earth will weep and lament for her, etc. The weeping of the kings, merchants, and sailors of Babylon can be understood in two ways: either in the day of judgment, when all the glory of the world perishes, and the …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

When they see the smoke of her burning. That is, the sign of destruction, because smoke precedes fire. For what is this rampage and destruction of the world other than the smoke of impending hell?

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication,....
3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

lived deliciously--Greek, "luxuriated." The faithless Church, instead of reproving, connived at the self-indulgent luxury of the great men of this world, and sanctioned it by her own practice.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The kings of the earth - Those who copied her superstitions and adopted her idolatries.
And the kings of the earth - This verse commences the description of the lamentation over the fall of the mystical Babylon (see the Analysis of the chapter). Who have committed fornication - That is, who have been seduced by her from the true God, and have been led into practical idolatry. See the notes on Rev 14:8. The kings of the earth seem to be represented as among the chief mourners, because they had derived important aid from the power which was now to be reduced to ruin.

The words behind it

23 Greek words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 18:3

    All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance…

    it leads to

    • Revelation 14:8

      Then a second angel followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Revelation 18:23

      The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Revelation 17:2

      The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

  • Through

    Revelation 17:2

    The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 51:7

      Babylon was a gold cup in the hand of the LORD, making the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations have gone mad.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Revelation 18:3

      All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance…

  • Through

    Revelation 19:3

    And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 34:10

      It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever again pass through it.

    • Revelation 18:18

      and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.

  • Through

    Revelation 18:18

    and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 13:4

      They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
This page draws on 9 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 18:9-10; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Caesarius of Arles, EXPOSITION ON THE APOCALYPSE 18:9-10, HOMILY 16; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation.