18:8a
her plagues will come: The Berean Standard Bible literally represents the Greek here. This clause indicates that Babylon will suffer from these plagues. Other ways to translate this clause are:
she will experience her plagues (NET Bible)
-or-
she will be struck with plagues (Good News Translation)
-or-
plagues shall strike her (Revised English Bible)
The plagues are listed in 18:8b. The Berean Standard Bible indicates the list of plagues follows by using a long dash (—) at the end of 18:8a. The New International Version indicates that by using a colon.
plagues: Here the word plagues refers to “death and grief and famine” (18:8b). In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate only sicknesses. If that is true in your language, use a word that can refer to death, mourning, and famine. For example:
disasters
in one day: God will punish her with all the plagues in one day. This phrase also implies that the plagues will be sudden.
18:8b
death and grief and famine: This phrase is a list of Babylon’s plagues (18:8a). Clearly indicate that death and grief and famine are her plagues. For example:
namely, death, mourning, and famine
The Berean Standard Bible uses punctuation as described in the previous note.
death: There are several ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as death :
(1) The Greek word here has its literal meaning of death. For example:
death (New Living Translation (2004))
(2) The Greek word here means fatal disease. For example:
pestilence (Revised Standard Version)
(3) The Greek word here refers to disease in general. For example:
disease (Good News Translation)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because that is the usual meaning of the Greek word.
grief: This word is the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “grief” in 18:7b. You may want to translate it with the same word here.
famine: This word refers to an extreme shortage of food. During a famine, people die from hunger.
18:8c
she will be consumed by fire: This clause indicates that a fire will burn Babylon completely. The clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
Fire will burn her ⌊to ashes⌋
-or-
They will completely burn her
consumed: Here the word consumed indicates that Babylon will be completely burned by fire.
18:8d
for: This conjunction introduces the reason why Babylon will be consumed by fire.
mighty is the Lord God who judges her: The Berean Standard Bible and some English versions have the description (the adjective mighty) before the one described. This is an English poetic style. In some languages it is more natural to have the description after. For example:
the Lord God, who judges her, is mighty (Good News Translation)
mighty: This word not only refers to physical strength, but probably also to great authority. God has both the power and authority to judge Babylon.
the Lord God who judges her: The clause who judges her tells the reader more about God. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there are other gods and only this one judges her. If that is true in your language, translate this clause so that it tells more about God. For example:
the Lord God. He judges her.
-or-
her judge is the…Lord God (Contemporary English Version)
Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “the one who has authority over (others),” or “owner.” God has authority over everyone. See how you translated this word in 4:8 or 17:14.
judges her: The word judges refers to deciding if someone is guilty or innocent of wrongdoing. The context implies that the Lord judged Babylon to be guilty. So he punished her with death, mourning, and famine (18:8b).
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate only that God judged her, but he did not punish her. If that is true in your language, include some of the implied information. For example:
judges/judged her ⌊in that way⌋
-or-
judges/judged her ⌊and punished her with those plagues⌋
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