Revelation 18:24
And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Study Note
Study Note
The final indictment of Babylon — 'in her was found the blood of prophets and saints and all that were slain upon the earth' — makes the imperial city responsible not only for its own documented victims but for the entire history of murderous oppression extending back to Abel (cf. Matthew 23:35). The scope 'all that were slain upon the earth' echoes Matthew 23:35's condemnation of Jerusalem, suggesting that John's 'Babylon' absorbs both the Roman imperial oppressor and any city or system that has made itself the enemy of God's witnesses across history. The verse provides the theological grounding for Revelation's dramatic double-vision: Babylon's judgment is simultaneously specific (Rome) and universal (all empires built on violence). The passage has been important for Christian traditions of prophetic critique of systemic injustice and for martyr-theology's insistence that history's victims are remembered before God.
Other Translations
And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.
and in her blood of prophets and of saints was found, and of all those who have been slain on the earth.'
And in her was seen the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been put to death on the earth.
Cross References
As Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the …
Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it …
Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to …
In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained …
In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the …
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I …
Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming …
For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with …