Revelation 18:8

Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The speaker pronounces the immediate downfall of a symbolic prostitute representing arrogant worldly power, directly following the declaration that her pride and luxury will be repaid with proportional torment. The vision occurs at the moment the narrative transitions from her threatened judgment to the execution of that sentence.

The words — The Greek διὰ (dia) functions as a causal marker meaning “because of this,” while ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ (en mia hēmera) literally renders “in one day” to mark the sudden, unbroken arrival of the plagues.

The thread — This execution motif parallels Jeremiah 50:31, where the Lord declares “your day has come” for the arrogant city, and aligns with Revelation 17:16, where hostile powers leave her desolate. The closing clause identifies the Lord God as the executing judge, distinct from Jeremiah 50:34’s description of the Lord of Hosts as a strong Redeemer who pleads a case.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to accept that sudden, total destruction follows arrogant self-exaltation, removing any illusion of self-preservation. It demands acknowledgment that the Lord God who executes judgment operates with undeniable power.

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

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

Cross-references

Jeremiah 50:31 “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.
Jeremiah 50:34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.
Revelation 17:16 And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
Revelation 18:9 Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
Isaiah 47:9 These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.
Jeremiah 51:6 Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
Jeremiah 51:58 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will exhaust themselves to fuel the flames.”
1 Corinthians 10:22 Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Revelation 18:19 Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.”
Job 9:19 If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?