Revelation 18:19

19 And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas. In a single moment it is all gone.”

Revelation 18:19 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 18:19

And they cast dust on their heads
As the seafaring men on account of Tyre, ( Ezekiel 27:30 ) this was a gesture used in mourning when persons were in afflicted and distressed circumstances, denoting disorder, confusion, and debasement; see ( Joshua 7:6 ) ( Job 2:12 )

and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, alas, alas! that great city;
as in ( Revelation 18:10 Revelation 18:16 ) so it was once, though now in flames:

wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea;
not only the merchants of the earth, as in ( Revelation 18:3 ) the cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, but the governors of religious houses; these accumulated great wealth to themselves, and got the best of lands into their possession for the use and support of their abbeys and monasteries:

by reason of her costliness;
or costly things; pardons, indulgences, absolution, saying Mass, and praying souls out of purgatory, all which are costly, and hereby these traders have been enriched; and now the remembrance of these things, of which they will be deprived, will affect and grieve them, as well as the suddenness of Rome's ruin:

for in one hour is she made desolate;
her judgment come, and her riches come to nought, ( Revelation 18:10 Revelation 18:17 ) .

Revelation 18:19 In-Context

17 In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.

18 They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?”

19 And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas. In a single moment it is all gone.”

20 Rejoice over her fate, O heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes.

21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted, “Just like this, the great city Babylon will be thrown down with violence and will never be found again.