18:6a–7a
In 18:6–7a the speaker now urged someone to punish Babylon. It is not clear to whom the voice spoke. He used four different commands. Two commands urge them to give her a punishment that is equal to her sin. Two commands urge them to give her double the punishment. The four commands together urge them to fully and completely punish Babylon.
The four commands are all addressed to more than one person or being. If you must say to whom the speaker is speaking, use a general plural word. For example:
⌊You,
(plur)⌋ give back to her….
18:6a
Give back to her as she has done to others: The Greek clause is literally “Reward her as she also rewarded (you/others).” The context indicates that Babylon had done bad things, and these people were to do bad things to her in return. Other ways to translate this clause are:
Pay her back even as she has paid (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Do to her as she has done to others (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Give back to her as she has given (New International Version)
18:6b
pay her back double for what she has done: The Greek clause is literally “double the double according to her deeds.” It refers to punishing Babylon twice as much as she deserved for the evil deeds she did. Other ways to translate this clause are:
repay her double for her deeds (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Double her penalty for all her evil deeds (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
indeed, double the punishment for her deeds
18:6c
mix her a double portion in her own cup: This clause refers figuratively to punishing Babylon by doing twice the evil to her. It commands the people to do what she had done to others, but twice as much. For example:
in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her (New American Standard Bible)
In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Translate the literal meaning and explain its figurative meaning in a footnote. For example:
This saying refers figuratively to people punishing Babylon by doing what she had done to others, but twice as much.
• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
Punish her in the same ways that she did bad things to others, but punish her twice as much
You may then want to indicate the literal meaning in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Literally: “in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.”
• Explain the figurative meaning in your translation. For example:
⌊Punish her in the same ways that she did bad things to others, but⌋ give to her as if twice as much in her cup
mix her: At the time wine was often mixed with water and spices before drinking. There are several ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as mix :
(1) It refers to mixing two or more liquids together. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:
mix…for her
(2) It refers to pouring something into a cup. For example, the Good News Translation says:
Fill her cup
(3) It refers to giving something. For example, the God’s Word says:
Give her
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the lexicons support it.
The word mix refers here to getting the portion ready for the woman to drink. Other ways to translate this clause are:
prepare (New Century Version)
-or-
make
her: The Berean Standard Bible omits the word “for” in a natural English style. In many languages, this word must be explicit. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:
for her
a double portion: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a double portion :
(1) It refers to twice as much liquid (twice as much wine and water mixed together). For example, the NET Bible says:
double the amount
(2) It refers to twice as much wine but the same amount of water. For example, the Good News Translation says:
twice as strong
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because of the connection to the amount of her sins in 18:5 and “pay her back double” in 18:6b.
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