And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Shall. So B; but 'Aleph (') A C read, present 'weep and mourn.'
Merchandise - `cargo' in ships: ship-lading (cf. Revelation 18:17). Rome was not commercial, and is not likely, from her position, to be so. The merchandise must be spiritual, as the harlot is not literal. She did not witness against carnal luxury and pleasure-seeking-the source of merchants' gains-but conformed to them (Revelation 18:7). She cared not for the sheep, but for the wool. Professing Christian merchants lived as if this world were the reality, not heaven, unscrupulous as to the means of gain. Compare Zechariah 5:4-11 (notes), the judgment on mystical Babylon's merchants for unjust gain. All the merchandise here occurs repeatedly in the 'Roman Ceremonial.'