Herod’s Violence to the Church

12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. ² Then he killed James ^(A)the brother of John with the sword. ³ And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during ^(B)the Days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ So ^(C)when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four ^[a]squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter Freed from Prison

⁵ Peter was therefore kept in prison, but ^[b]constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ⁶ And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were ^[c]keeping the prison. ⁷ Now behold, ^(D)an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” ⁹ So he went out and followed him, and ^(E)did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought ^(F)he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, ^(G)which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that ^(H)the Lord has sent His angel, and ^(I)has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

¹² So, when he had considered this, ^(J)he came to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(K)John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together ^(L)praying. ¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵ But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, ^(M)“It is his angel.”

¹⁶ Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ But ^(N)motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸ Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small ^[d]stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.

And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

The Fall of Babylon the Great

18 After^(A) these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, ^(B)and the earth was illuminated with his glory. ² And he cried ^[a]mightily with a loud voice, saying, ^(C)“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and ^(D)has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and ^(E)a cage for every unclean and hated bird! ³ For all the nations ^(F)have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, ^(G)and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the ^[b]abundance of her luxury.”

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ^(H)“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. ^5 (I)For her sins ^[c]have reached to heaven, and ^(J)God has remembered her iniquities. ^6 (K)Render to her just as she rendered ^[d]to you, and repay her double according to her works; ^(L)in the cup which she has mixed, ^(M)mix double for her. ^7 (N)In the measure that she glorified herself and lived ^[e]luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as ^(O)queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ ⁸ Therefore her plagues will come ^(P)in one day—death and mourning and famine. And ^(Q)she will be utterly burned with fire, ^(R)for strong is the Lord God who ^[f]judges her.

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

^9 (S)“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her ^(T)will weep and lament for her, ^(U)when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰ standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ^(V)‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! ^(W)For in one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And ^(X)the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: ^12 (Y)merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and ^(Z)souls of men. ¹⁴ The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have ^[g]gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. ¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, ¹⁶ and saying, ‘Alas, alas, ^(AA)that great city ^(AB)that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! ^17 (AC)For in one hour such great riches ^[h]came to nothing.’ ^(AD)Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance ^18 (AE)and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ^(AF)‘What is like this great city?’

^19 (AG)“They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! ^(AH)For in one hour she ^[i]is made desolate.’

^20 (AI)“Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[j]holy apostles and prophets, for ^(AJ)God has avenged you on her!”

Finality of Babylon’s Fall

²¹ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ^(AK)“Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and ^(AL)shall not be found anymore. ^22 (AM)The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. ^23 (AN)The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, ^(AO)and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For ^(AP)your merchants were the great men of the earth, ^(AQ)for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. ²⁴ And ^(AR)in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who ^(AS)were slain on the earth.”