Revelation of John 18

The Fall of Babylon

1After this I saw ^aanother angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and ^bthe earth was made bright with his glory. 2And he called out with a mighty voice,

^c“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become ^da dwelling place for demons,
a haunt ^efor every unclean spirit,
a haunt ^ffor every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3For all nations have drunk ▼

▼Some manuscripts fallen by

^hthe wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and ⁱthe kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and ^jthe merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
4Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

^k“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5for ^lher sins are heaped high as heaven,
and ^mGod has remembered her iniquities.
6 ⁿPay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her ^odouble for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her ^pin the cup she mixed.
7 ^qAs she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
^r‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.’
8For this reason her plagues will come ^sin a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and ^tshe will be burned up with fire;
for ^umighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
9And ^vthe kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, ^wwill weep and wail over her ^xwhen they see the smoke of her burning. 10 ^yThey will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! ^zYou great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For ^aain a single hour your judgment has come.”
11And ^abthe merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. ▼

▼Or  and slaves, and human lives

14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
15 ^adThe merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, ^aewill stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
^afthat was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
17For ^agin a single hour all this wealth ^ahhas been laid waste.”
And ^aiall shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18and ^ajcried out ^akas they saw the smoke of her burning,

^al“What city was like the great city?”
19And they threw ^amdust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city
^anwhere all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For ^aoin a single hour she has been laid waste.
20 ^apRejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and ^aqapostles and prophets,
for ^arGod has given judgment for you against her!”
21Then ^asa mighty angel ^attook up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“So will Babylon ^authe great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22and ^avthe sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and ^awthe sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and ^axthe voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for ^ayyour merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived ^azby your sorcery.
24And ^bain her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of ^bball who have been slain on earth.”