18:2a
And he cried out in a mighty voice: The phrase in a mighty voice is not emphasized in the Greek. So you do not need to emphasize this phrase in your translation. For example:
He shouted with a powerful voice (NET Bible)
cried out: The Greek word refers to speaking loudly so that many people can hear the message.
18:2b
Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great: The Greek words are literally “The great Babylon fell fell.” The verb “fell” is repeated in order to emphasize it. The Berean Standard Bible emphasizes the verb by repeating it and by placing it first, in poetic style common in English. The Good News Translation emphasizes the verb by using two complete sentences:
She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen!
See how you translated these words in 14:8.
Fallen: Here the word Fallen refers to the result of the beast (and others) destroying the city (17:16).
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate or imply that the city fell because of some accident. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Explain the implied meaning in your translation. For example:
⌊has been destroyed and so⌋ has fallen
• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
has been destroyed
-or-
is finished/gone
• Explain the implied meaning in a footnote. For example:
This refers to the beast and others destroying the city (17:16) as God planned (17:17).
Babylon: Babylon had once been a very powerful city. The city was well known for idol worship. It controlled a vast empire at that time. One of its kings conquered Jerusalem. But at the time of Jesus and John, it was only ruins. So the name Babylon is a symbol here. It refers to a city, country, or empire that opposes God. This could include Rome or a future powerful city. Use the name Babylon here.
the great: The city of Babylon is called the great because it had once been an important and famous city. It had controlled a vast empire and held great influence in that region. See how you translated this phrase in 17:5.
18:2c
She: This pronoun refers to the city of Babylon. 18:2c–d describes it. 18:3a–c continues to use the metaphor of a woman for the city.
a lair for demons: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lair refers to a location where someone or something lives. The demons live in the ruins of Babylon. People are no longer living there. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
a dwelling place of demons (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
a lair for demons (NET Bible)
demons: This word refers to evil spirit beings. The word demons does not refer to the spirits of dead people.
18:2d
haunt: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as haunt refers to a place where an evil spiritual being lives. It probably includes the sense of guarding something. The demons probably watch over the ruins of Babylon and resent anyone trying to enter. Other ways to translate this word are:
refuge
-or-
place of watching/guarding
unclean spirit: The Berean Standard Bible literally represents the Greek of this phrase. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
foul spirit (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
filthy spirit (Contemporary English Version)
The phrase unclean spirit is a Hebrew idiom that refers to the spirit being sinful. A sinful spirit is religiously unclean and, therefore, unable to stand before God. An unclean spirit has rebelled against God.
In some languages translating unclean spirit literally would not have the meaning above. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Literally: “unclean spirit.” The phrase “unclean spirit” is a Hebrew idiom that refers to the spirit being sinful. A sinful spirit is religiously unclean and, therefore, unable to stand before God.
spirit: The word spirit refers to a being that is usually not seen. Angels and demons are spirits.
every unclean bird, and every detestable beast: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as every here probably means “many different kinds.” For example:
all kinds of filthy and hateful birds (Good News Translation)
unclean bird: In the Old Testament, writers referred to these kinds of birds as living in desolate or deserted places (Isaiah 34:11, Jeremiah 50:39). In Jewish culture, these birds were symbolic of demons. You may want to explain that implied meaning in a footnote. For example:
In the Old Testament, writers referred to these kinds of birds as living in desolate or deserted places (Isaiah 13:20–21, 34:10–11, Jeremiah 50:39). In Jewish culture, these birds were symbolic of demons.
unclean: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unclean means “defiled” or “desecrated.” It can also have the figurative meaning of “unfit before God” here. For example:
foul (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
filthy (Good News Translation)
-or-
vile/nasty
-or-
disgusting
and every detestable beast: There is a textual issue here:
(1) Some versions include these words. For example:
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast (English Standard Version)
(2) Some versions do not include these words.
It is recommended that you follow option (1), because the Greek NT 4 includes them.
detestable: This word refers to things that people hate or avoid. Other ways to translate this word are:
loathsome (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
hated
© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.