Openbaring 18:17

17 En alle stuurlieden, en al het volk op de schepen, en bootsgezellen, en allen, die ter zee handelen, stonden van verre;

Openbaring 18:17 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 18:17

For in one hour so great riches is come to nought
That is, in a very short time, expressing the suddenness and speediness of Rome's destruction, the quick dispatch and expedition that will be made in it, by the instruments of it, as in ( Revelation 18:10 ) . Rome was always famous for its great wealth and riches; the Jews have a saying ^F12, that if ten kabs of riches descend into the world, the ancient Romans take nine of them, and the other the whole world:

and every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and
as many as trade by sea, stood afar off;
the lamentation of the kings and merchants of the earth being ended, masters of ships, sailors, and seafaring men begin theirs: by "ships" are meant dioceses, abbeys, priories, and monasteries; and by the masters, or governors of them, bishops, abbots, priors, the heads of monasteries, and of the several orders of the Franciscans, Dominicans and by "all the company in ships", or "every shipmate", the fellows that belong to every religious house and order; and by "sailors" and "traders at sea", all such who compass sea and land to make proselytes to the Romish religion, like the Pharisees of old, and who, as they, make them two fold more the children of hell than themselves; and, in general, these traders abroad may design the pope's legates, sent by him into various parts, to collect his revenues, and the Jesuits, who are everywhere sent abroad to sow sedition and false doctrine, and the priests that travel about to sell pardons and indulgences: these

stood afar off;
as the kings and merchants before, for fear of sharing in the condemnation and punishment of Babylon; knowing full well that they deserved it, having been associates with her in her crimes.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 49. 2.

Openbaring 18:17 In-Context

15 De kooplieden dezer dingen, die rijk geworden waren van haar, zullen van verre staan uit vreze van haar pijniging, wenende en rouw makende;

16 En zeggende: Wee, wee, de grote stad, die bekleed was met fijn lijnwaad, en purper, en scharlaken, en versierd met goud, en met kostelijk gesteente, en met paarlen; want in een ure is zo grote rijkdom verwoest.

17 En alle stuurlieden, en al het volk op de schepen, en bootsgezellen, en allen, die ter zee handelen, stonden van verre;

18 En riepen, ziende den rook van haar brand, en zeggende: Wat stad was deze grote stad gelijk?

19 En zij wierpen stof op hun hoofden, en riepen, wenende en rouw bedrijvende, zeggende: Wee, wee, de grote stad, in dewelke allen, die schepen in de zee hadden, van haar kostelijkheid rijk geworden zijn; want zij is in een ure verwoest geworden.