Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another ^(A)angel ^(B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(C)illuminated from his glory. ² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “^[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^[b]prison of every ^(F)unclean spirit, and a ^[c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. ³ For all the nations have fallen because of the ^(G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and ^(H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the ^(I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the ^[d]excessive wealth of her ^[e](J)luxury.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “^(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; ⁵ for her sins have ^[f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(M)remembered her offenses. ^6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^[g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ^7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and ^(Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘^(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ⁸ For this reason ^(S)in one day her plagues will come, ^[h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(U)is strong.

Grief over Babylon

⁹ “And ^(V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and ^(W)lived luxuriously with her, will ^(X)weep and mourn over her when they ^(Y)see the smoke of her burning, ^10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘^(AA)Woe, woe, ^(AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(AC)one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And the ^(AD)merchants of the earth ^(AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— ¹² cargo of ^(AF)gold, silver, precious ^[i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, ^[j]bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ cinnamon, ^[k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, ^[l]slaves, and ^(AG)human lives. ¹⁴ The fruit ^[m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. ¹⁵ The ^(AH)merchants of ^(AI)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶ saying, ‘^(AK)Woe, woe, ^(AL)the great city, she who ^(AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[n]adorned with gold, precious ^[o]stones, and pearls; ¹⁷ for in ^(AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(AO)waste!’ And ^(AP)every shipmaster and every ^[p]passenger and sailor, and all who ^[q]make their living by the sea, ^(AQ)stood at a distance, ¹⁸ and were ^(AR)crying out as they ^(AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘^(AT)What city is like ^(AU)the great city?’ ¹⁹ And they threw ^(AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘^(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in ^(AY)one hour she has been laid ^(AZ)waste!’ ^20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[r]saints and ^(BB)apostles and prophets, because ^(BC)God has ^[s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”

²¹ Then ^[t]a ^(BD)strong angel ^(BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, ^(BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(BG)will never be found again. ²² And ^(BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the ^(BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; ²³ and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the ^(BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your ^(BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(BL)by your witchcraft. ²⁴ And in her was found the ^(BM)blood of prophets and of ^[u]saints, and of ^(BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

Joshua, the High Priest

3 Then he showed me ^(A)Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and ^[a](B)Satan standing at his right to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “^(C)The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has ^(D)chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a ^(E)log snatched from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was clothed in ^(F)filthy garments and was standing before the angel. ⁴ And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “^(G)Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have ^(H)taken your guilt away from you and ^[b]will ^(I)clothe you with festive robes.” ⁵ Then I said, “Have them put a clean ^(J)headband on his head.” So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

⁶ And the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷ “The Lord of armies says this: ‘If you ^(K)walk in My ways and perform My service, then you will both ^(L)govern My house and be in charge of My ^(M)courtyards, and I will grant you ^[c]free access among these who are standing here.

The Branch

⁸ Now listen, Joshua, you high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a ^(N)sign: for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the ^[d](O)Branch. ⁹ For behold, the stone that I have put before Joshua; on one stone are ^(P)seven eyes. Behold, I am going to engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘and I will ^(Q)remove the guilt of that land in one day. ¹⁰ On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his ^(R)vine and under his fig tree.’”

The Golden Lampstand and the Olive Trees

4 Then ^(S)the angel who had been speaking with me returned and ^(T)woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep. ² And he said to me, “^(U)What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a ^(V)lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its ^(W)seven lamps on it with seven ^[e]spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; ³ also ^(X)two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” ⁴ Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, “What are these, ^(Y)my lord?” ⁵ So ^(Z)the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “^(AA)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶ Then he said to ^[f]me, “This is the word of the Lord to ^(AB)Zerubbabel, saying, ‘^(AC)Not by might nor by power, but by My ^(AD)Spirit,’ says the Lord of armies. ⁷ ‘What are you, you great ^(AE)mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring out the top stone with ^(AF)shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

⁸ Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have ^(AG)laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will ^(AH)finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of armies has sent me to ^[g]you. ¹⁰ For who has shown contempt for the day of ^(AI)small things? ^[h]But these ^(AJ)seven will rejoice when they see the ^[i](AK)plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—they are the ^(AL)eyes of the Lord ^(AM)roaming throughout the earth.”

¹¹ Then I said to him, “What are these ^(AN)two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” ¹² And I responded the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive ^[j]branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” ¹³ So he answered me, saying, “^(AO)Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, ^(AP)my lord.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two ^[k](AQ)anointed ones, who are ^(AR)standing by the ^(AS)Lord of the whole earth.”