Revelation 18:20
 
Revelation 18:20
(KJV) Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
(1611 KJV) Reioyce ouer her thou heauen, and ye holy Apostles and Prophets, for God hath auenged you on her.
(1587 Geneva Bible) O heauen, reioyce of her, and ye holy Apostles and Prophets: for God hath punished her to be reuenged on her for your sakes.
(1526 Tyndale) Reioyce over her thou heven and ye holy Apostles and prophetes: for god hath geven youre iudgment on her.
 
Counterfeit Versions
(1881 RV) Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.
(1901 ASV) Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.
(AMP) Rejoice (celebrate) over her, O heaven! O saints (people of God) and apostles and prophets, because God has executed vengeance for you upon her!
(CEB) Rejoice over her, heaven—you saints, apostles, and prophets—because God has condemned her as she condemned you.’”
(CEV) The heavens should be happy with God's people and apostles and prophets. God has punished her for them."
(CSB) Rejoice over her, heaven, and you saints, apostles, and prophets, because God has pronounced on her the judgment she passed on you!
(ERV) Be happy because of this, O heaven! Be happy, God’s holy people and apostles and prophets! God has punished her because of what she did to you.’”
(ESV) Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
(GNB) Be glad, heaven, because of her destruction! Be glad, God's people and the apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her for what she did to you!
(HCSB) Rejoice over her, heaven, and you saints, apostles, and prophets, because God has executed your judgment on her!
(THE MESSAGE) "O Heaven, celebrate! And join in, saints, apostles, and prophets! God has judged her; every wrong you suffered from her has been judged."
(NASV) Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”
(NCV) Be happy because of this, heaven! Be happy, God's holy people and apostles and prophets! God has punished her because of what she did to you."
(NIRV) Heaven, be glad for this! God's people, be glad! Apostles and prophets, be glad!
God has judged her for the way she treated you.' "
(NIV) “Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”
(NLV) “Be full of joy because of her, O heaven! Be full of joy, you who belong to God and missionaries and early preachers! For God has punished her for what she did to you.”
(NLT) Rejoice over her fate, O Heaven and people of God and apostles and prophets! For at last God has judged her for your sakes.
(RSV) Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!"
(NAB-Roman Catholic) Rejoice over her, heaven, you holy ones, apostles, and prophets. For God has judged your case against her.”
(NWT - Jehovah’s Witnesses) “Be glad over her, O heaven, also YOU holy ones and YOU apostles and YOU prophets, because God has judicially exacted punishment for YOU from her!”
 
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
ευφραινου επ αυτην ουρανε και οι αγιοι αποστολοι και οι προφηται οτι εκρινεν ο θεος το κριμα υμων εξ αυτης
 
Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
ευφραινου επ αυτη ουρανε και οι αγιοι και οι αποστολοι και οι προφηται οτι εκρινεν ο θεος το κριμα υμων εξ αυτης
 
Corrupted Manuscripts
This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
P 025 - Ninth century
 
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Stephanus (1550 A.D.)
 
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Reads “ye Saints and ye Apostles” instead of “ye holy Apostles”
Greisbach, Johann - 1805
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Von Soden, Freiherr - 1902
Hodges and Farstad - Majority Text 1982 as corrected in 1985
 
Affected Teaching
All throughout history, God had sent the Prophets and Apostles to the nations to warn them of impending judgment. Now God is specifically telling the Holy Apostles and Prophets to rejoice over the fall of Political Babylon. The vindication of their messages and their calling from God is at hand and this also means that soon the New Heavens and New Earth will be made. The Hort-Westcott texts adds two words “and the” between “holy” and “apostles.” This verse also points out that Heaven will be rejoicing which means all the believers that are there will be rejoicing, so there is no need to place additional wording in the verse to include “saints.” The Holy Apostles and Prophets had special callings and now God is vindicating them as their warnings are now coming to pass. The modern versions remove the specifics of this verse.

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