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“Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom,
    living at ease and feeling secure.
You say, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.
    I will never be a widow or lose my children.’

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“Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security(A)
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.(B)
I will never be a widow(C)
    or suffer the loss of children.’

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15 This is the boisterous city,
    once so secure.
“I am the greatest!” it boasted.
    “No other city can compare with me!”
But now, look how it has become an utter ruin,
    a haven for wild animals.
Everyone passing by will laugh in derision
    and shake a defiant fist.

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15 This is the city of revelry(A)
    that lived in safety.(B)
She said to herself,
    “I am the one! And there is none besides me.”(C)
What a ruin she has become,
    a lair for wild beasts!(D)
All who pass by her scoff(E)
    and shake their fists.(F)

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Listen, you women who lie around in ease.
    Listen to me, you who are so smug.

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The Women of Jerusalem

You women(A) who are so complacent,
    rise up and listen(B) to me;
you daughters who feel secure,(C)
    hear what I have to say!

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Babylon’s Sure Fall

11 “You rejoice and are glad,
    you who plundered my chosen people.
You frisk about like a calf in a meadow
    and neigh like a stallion.

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11 “Because you rejoice and are glad,
    you who pillage my inheritance,(A)
because you frolic like a heifer(B) threshing grain
    and neigh like stallions,

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10 “You felt secure in your wickedness.
    ‘No one sees me,’ you said.
But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray,
    and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’

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10 You have trusted(A) in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(B)
Your wisdom(C) and knowledge mislead(D) you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’

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so all the world from east to west
    will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.

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so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting(A)
people may know(B) there is none besides me.(C)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.

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For all the nations have fallen[a]
    because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
    have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
    the merchants of the world have grown rich.”

Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,

“Come away from her, my people.
    Do not take part in her sins,
    or you will be punished with her.
For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
    and God remembers her evil deeds.
Do to her as she has done to others.
    Double her penalty[b] for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
    so brew twice as much[c] for her.
She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
    so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
    ‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
    and I have no reason to mourn.’
Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
    death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
    for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”

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Footnotes

  1. 18:3 Some manuscripts read have drunk.
  2. 18:6a Or Give her an equal penalty.
  3. 18:6b Or brew just as much.

For all the nations have drunk
    the maddening wine of her adulteries.(A)
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,(B)
    and the merchants of the earth grew rich(C) from her excessive luxuries.”(D)

Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment

Then I heard another voice from heaven say:

“‘Come out of her, my people,’[a](E)
    so that you will not share in her sins,
    so that you will not receive any of her plagues;(F)
for her sins are piled up to heaven,(G)
    and God has remembered(H) her crimes.
Give back to her as she has given;
    pay her back(I) double(J) for what she has done.
    Pour her a double portion from her own cup.(K)
Give her as much torment and grief
    as the glory and luxury she gave herself.(L)
In her heart she boasts,
    ‘I sit enthroned as queen.
I am not a widow;[b]
    I will never mourn.’(M)
Therefore in one day(N) her plagues will overtake her:
    death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,(O)
    for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:4 Jer. 51:45
  2. Revelation 18:7 See Isaiah 47:7,8.

He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

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He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God(A) or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.(B)

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27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

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27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “It was the same in the days of Lot.(A) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

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18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

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18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool!(A) This very night your life will be demanded from you.(B) Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’(C)

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Wealth[a] is treacherous,
    and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,[b]
    and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
    and swallowed many peoples.

“But soon their captives will taunt them.
    They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
    Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
    but how much longer can this go on?’
Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
    They will turn on you and take all you have,
    while you stand trembling and helpless.
Because you have plundered many nations,
    now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
    and filled the towns with violence.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:5a As in Dead Sea Scroll 1QpHab; other Hebrew manuscripts read Wine.
  2. 2:5b Hebrew as Sheol.

indeed, wine(A) betrays him;
    he is arrogant(B) and never at rest.
Because he is as greedy as the grave
    and like death is never satisfied,(C)
he gathers to himself all the nations
    and takes captive(D) all the peoples.

“Will not all of them taunt(E) him with ridicule and scorn, saying,

“‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods
    and makes himself wealthy by extortion!(F)
    How long must this go on?’
Will not your creditors suddenly arise?
    Will they not wake up and make you tremble?
    Then you will become their prey.(G)
Because you have plundered many nations,
    the peoples who are left will plunder you.(H)
For you have shed human blood;(I)
    you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.(J)

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10 His enemies, tangled like thornbushes
    and staggering like drunks,
    will be burned up like dry stubble in a field.

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10 They will be entangled among thorns(A)
    and drunk(B) from their wine;
    they will be consumed like dry stubble.[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Nahum 1:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

36 “The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place.

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The King Who Exalts Himself

36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself(A) above every god and will say unheard-of things(B) against the God of gods.(C) He will be successful until the time of wrath(D) is completed, for what has been determined must take place.(E)

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