Revelation 18:7

7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow;^[a]I will never mourn.’

Revelation 18:7 in Other Translations

7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

7 As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, 'I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.'

7 She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’

7 Bring her flaunting and wild ways to torment and tears. Because she gloated, "I'm queen over all, and no widow, never a tear on my face,"

7 As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give her that much torment and grief. Because she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never see grief,'

Revelation 18:7 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 18:7

How much she hath glorified herself
And acted the proud and haughty part in exalting herself above all emperors, kings, and princes, above all kingdoms and states, and also above all churches, assuming arrogant titles, and even blasphemous names; see ( Revelation 13:1 Revelation 13:5 )

and lived deliciously:
in a very luxuriant manner, as the popes, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, and friars have done; some being clothed in purple and scarlet, and in gold and silver, and all living upon the fat of the land, and in rioting and drunkenness, in chambering and wantonness:

so much torment and sorrow give her:
by pulling down her pride, which goes before a fall, than which nothing could more torment and afflict her; by stripping her of her fine clothes and rich apparel; and by taking away her fat benefices from her, which will cut her to the heart; and by burning her with fire, which will be very excruciating:

for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen;
a lady of kingdoms, as in ( Isaiah 47:5 ) to which the reference is; having a temporal power and authority over the kings of the earth, and a spiritual jurisdiction over all churches, apostate ones, being the mother of harlots; and her "sitting" as such, as it well agrees with the whore on many waters, and the woman on the scarlet coloured beast and seven mountains, who are all the same, and is very suitable to antichrist, who pretends to sit in Peter's chair, and does sit in the temple of God, as if he was God; so it is expressive of her empire and government over nations and churches, and of the continuance of it, as she imagines, see ( Isaiah 46:7 ) and so the Ethiopic version renders it, "I shall reign always": to which she adds,

and am no widow;
nor never shall be, as she flatters herself, see ( Isaiah 47:8 ) . Were she the true spouse of Christ, as she boasts herself, she indeed would be no widow, for Christ is an everlasting and never dying husband; but she is the whore of the kings of the earth, and though she fancies she shall be no widow, that is, bereft of people and power, see ( Lamentations 1:1 ) because she now sits on many waters, people, multitudes, and nations and tongues; yet ere long, like old Babylon, she will have no men in her, but will be inhabited by devils, foul spirits, and hateful birds:

and shall see no sorrow;
through loss of children, power, and authority; see ( Isaiah 47:8 ) but in this also she will be mistaken; her children will be killed with death, as is threatened to Jezebel, ( Revelation 2:23 ) and her plagues shall come upon her at once: now these words may be considered either as spoken by her when in the height of her power and glory, as she was about three or four hundred years ago; or just before her destruction, which seems to be the case, and looks as if she would regain her power, and be in her former state before her utter ruin; (See Gill on Revelation 11:2).

Revelation 18:7 In-Context

5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

6 Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.

7 Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow;I will never mourn.’

8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

9 “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her.

Cross References

• 1. Ezekiel 28:2-8
• 2. Psalms 10:6; Isaiah 47:7,8; Zephaniah 2:15

Footnotes

• [a]. See Isaiah 47:7,8.