Revelation 18:13

of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — John records a prophetic vision of merchants and kings mourning the sudden collapse of Babylon’s commercial empire. The account catalogs the specific goods that sustained the city’s corrupt economic system at the moment of its judgment.

The words — The text lists κιννάμωμον (kinnamōmon) as cinnamon and ἄμωμον (amōmon) as spice among the traded commodities. These terms appear in a straightforward inventory of luxury items that merchants claim generated their wealth.

The thread — The inclusion of traded slaves and luxury goods parallels Ezekiel 27:13, which lists merchants exchanging slaves for merchandise. Amos 2:6 and Nehemiah 5:8 also address the sin of selling people, framing economic exploitation as a recurring transgression.

Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that commercial networks built on exploitation are temporary and will be abandoned when judgment arrives. It calls readers to examine what they trade and whether their prosperity relies on the oppression of others.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 27:13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.
Amos 2:6 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
Nehemiah 5:8 and said, “We have done our best to buy back our Jewish brothers who were sold to foreigners, but now you are selling your own brothers, that they may be sold back to us!” But they remained silent, for they could find nothing to say.
2 Peter 2:3 In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
Exodus 21:16 Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.
Deuteronomy 24:7 If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.
Isaiah 50:1 This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for your iniquities, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
1 Timothy 1:10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
Deuteronomy 28:68 The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”
1 Kings 10:10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.