complete verse (Revelation 18:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 18:10:

  • Uma: “They just gazed from afar because they feared that the torture that struck that village would spread to them. They said: ‘How-sad! [like Indonesian: kasihan!] How-sad for that big village over there, the strong village of Babel! In just one hour came its punishment.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They will stand from far off watching because they are afraid that they might be included being punished. They wail saying, ‘Allo. It’s all over (lit. no longer becoming). What a pity, really, for the famous and strong city of Babilon. In just one hour you were struck by God’s judgment.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They will have to stay far away watching, for they will be afraid lest they be included in the torturing of that town. They will say, ‘Pity you, you very great city of Babylon. For within one hour you have been overtaken by punishment!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Due to their fear of being-punished-with her, they will stand far-off and say, ‘Oh how-awful (exp. of sympathy)! Extremely to-be-pitied is that famous (lit. newsed) city Babilonia! Even though that was a large city, yet its punishment was sudden, because it was a mere only-one hour and it was destroyed!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They will just stand at a distance, because they are afraid of being included in that punishment of suffering. They are saying, ‘Alas, this really is extremely hard! It’s a really gooseflesh-causing thing. Because in the space of just one hour the punishment has come to the glorious and famous city of Babilonia.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Far off these people will stand to look at what happened. Because the people will fear the punishment which will come. They will say: ‘Pity the city of Babylon. It was powerful but now in just a short time there has come the punishment it passes through,’ they will say.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

addressing God

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed.

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or modern English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.

Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”

In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.

Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking.” (Source Philip Noss)

In the most recent Manchu translation of 1835 (a revision of an earlier edition from 1822), God is never addressed with a pronoun but with “father” (ama /ᠠᠮᠠ) instead. Chengcheng Liu (in this post on the Cambridge Centre for Chinese Theology blog ) explains: “In Manchu tradition, as in Chinese etiquette, second-person pronouns could be considered disrespectful when speaking to superiors or spiritual beings. Manchu Shamanist prayers avoided si [‘you’] and sini [‘your’] for this very reason. To use them for God would be, in Lipovzoff’s [one of the two translators] words, ‘the most uncouth and indecent way to speak to the Almighty — as if He were a servant or slave.’ There was also a grammatical problem. In Manchu, si and sini could refer to both singular and plural subjects. For a faith that insisted on the singularity of God, this was potentially confusing. By contrast, repeating ama removed any ambiguity.”

In Dutch, Afrikaans, Gronings, and Western Frisian translations, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

See also formal pronoun: disciples addressing Jesus, female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Revelation 18:10

They will stand far off, or “they will stand a very long distance from the city.”

In fear of her torment: that is, these kings will be afraid that they will be punished with Babylon, and so they will stand a long way off. For torment see 9.5, “torture.” This clause may also be rendered as “Because they are afraid that they will receive the extreme pain that she is suffering.”

Alas! alas!: this is an expression of dismay and grief. The same Greek word in 8.13 is translated “Woe.” New Jerusalem Bible here and in verses 16 and 19 translates “Mourn, mourn for this great city,” an effective way of representing the meaning and feeling of the cry. Good News Translation‘s model is also an effective one in modern English.

Thou great city: Revised Standard Version uses the archaic pronouns thou and thy, ordinarily reserved by Revised Standard Version for addressing God. It is not necessary to use the second person singular form of address, as Revised Standard Version does; the third person can be used, as Good News Translation does. New Revised Standard Version has “Alas, alas, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city!”

In one hour: that is, in a short time, quickly, suddenly. See 17.12 for more information on the translation of this phrase.

Has thy judgment come: “you have been condemned (or, punished).” For the noun see 14.7; 16.7. One may also say “In such a short time God has punished you.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 18:10

18:10a

In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance: The Greek words indicate that the kings stood far away because they were afraid of Babylon’s torment. They did not want that torment to also happen to them. Other ways to translate these words are:

standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
while they keep at a safe distance through fear of her anguish (New Jerusalem Bible)

torment: This word refers to much hurt and pain. The Greek word is the same word as “torment” in 18:7b. But the context here refers to feeling hurt and pain rather than causing hurt and pain. Other ways to translate this word are:

anguish (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
suffering (Good News Translation)

cry out: The Greek word is literally “say” (as in the Revised Standard Version). The Berean Standard Bible uses the words cry out with the meaning of “speak with much emotion.”

18:10b

Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon!: There are two ways to interpret how Babylon was addressed:

(1) The speakers addressed Babylon directly. For example:

Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! (English Standard Version)

(2) The speakers spoke about Babylon here. For example:

How terrible! How awful! This great and mighty city Babylon! (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the next sentence was spoken to Babylon.

However, in some languages it is not natural to address a city directly. If that is true in your language, you may want to follow interpretation (2).

In some languages it is more natural to say first whom the speakers are addressing. For example:

to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon, woe, woe!
-or-

the great city, the mighty city of Babylon, woe, woe to it!

Woe, woe: The word Woe is repeated to emphasize its meaning. But in some languages it is more natural not to repeat the word. If that is true in your language, you should emphasize the woe in a natural way. For example:

Great woe ⌊indeed⌋ !

Woe: The Greek word here means “There will be trouble for (someone).” The word indicates sorrow about the troubles. Other ways to translate this word are:

How terrible (Good News Translation)
-or-
Alas (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Such great trouble for

See how you translated this word in 8:13.

18:10c

a single hour: Here the phrase a single hour refers to a short time, not necessarily a literal hour. It implies suddenness. Babylon did not expect God to come and judge her. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

a very short time
-or-
quickly ⌊and suddenly⌋

your judgment has come: This clause indicates that Babylon has been punished as God judged that she should be. In some languages it is more natural to use a different verb than come. For example:

your judgment has occurred/happened

You may have translated “O great city, O Babylon, city of power” following interpretation (2) above. If that is true in your language, you may want to do the same here. For example:

her judgment has come

judgment: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as judgment means that God judged Babylon to be deserving of death, mourning, and famine (18:8b). Other ways to translate this word are:

condemnation
-or-
punishment (New Century Version)

In some languages it is necessary or more natural to use a verb here. For example:

God has judged/condemned you
-or-
you have been punished (Good News Translation)

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