18. when they saw—Greek, "horontes." But A, B, C, and Andreas read, Greek, "blepontes," "looking at." Greek, "blepo," is to use the eyes, to look: the act of seeing without thought of the object seen. Greek, "horao," refers to the thing seen or presented to the eyes [Tittmann].
smoke—so B, C. But A reads "place."
What city is like—Compare the similar beast as to the beast, Re 13:4: so closely do the harlot and beast approximate one another. Contrast the attribution of this praise to God, to whom alone it is due, by His servants (Ex 15:11). Martial says of Rome, "Nothing is equal to her;" and Athenæus, "She is the epitome of the world."