Revelation 17-18

American Standard Version

17 And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; ² with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication. ³ And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, ^[a]full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and ^[b]decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, ^[c]even the unclean things of her fornication, ⁵ and upon her forehead a name written, ^[d]Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of the Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth. ⁶ And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the ^[e]martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder. ⁷ And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. ⁸ The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, ^[f]and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written ^[g]in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and ^[h]shall come. ⁹ Here is the ^[i]mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth: ¹⁰ and ^[j]they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while. ¹¹ And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition. ¹² And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. ¹³ These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. ¹⁴ These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful. ¹⁵ And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. ¹⁷ For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished. ¹⁸ And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which ^[k]reigneth over the kings of the earth.

18 After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory. ² And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a ^[l]hold of every unclean spirit, and a ^[m]hold of every unclean and hateful bird. ³ For ^[n]by ^[o]the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her ^[p]wantonness.

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: ⁵ for her sins ^[q]have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. ⁶ Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double. ⁷ How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed ^[r]wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning. ⁸ Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is ^[s]the Lord God who judged her. ⁹ And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived ^[t]wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰ standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. ¹¹ And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their ^[u]merchandise any more; ^12 [v]merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; ¹³ and cinnamon, and ^[w]spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and chariots and ^[x]slaves; and ^[y]souls of men. ¹⁴ And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all. ¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; ¹⁶ saying, Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[z]decked with gold and precious stone and pearl! ¹⁷ for in one hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any whither, and mariners, and as many as ^[aa]gain their living by sea, stood afar off, ¹⁸ and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city? ¹⁹ And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. ²⁰ Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.

²¹ And ^[ab]a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all. ²² And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, ^[ac]of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee; ²³ and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived. ²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.