But these two things shall come to you
(A)In a moment, in one day:
The loss of children, and widowhood.
They shall come upon you in their fullness
Because of the multitude of your sorceries,
For the great abundance of your enchantments.

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Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,(A) on a single day:
    loss of children(B) and widowhood.(C)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries(D)
    and all your potent spells.(E)

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For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then (A)sudden destruction comes upon them, (B)as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

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While people are saying, “Peace and safety,”(A) destruction will come on them suddenly,(B) as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.(C)

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19 Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.

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19 How suddenly(A) are they destroyed,
    completely swept away(B) by terrors!

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Because of the multitude of [a]harlotries of the [b]seductive harlot,
(A)The mistress of sorceries,
Who sells nations through her harlotries,
And families through her sorceries.

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Footnotes

  1. Nahum 3:4 Spiritual unfaithfulness
  2. Nahum 3:4 Lit. goodly charm, in a bad sense

all because of the wanton lust of a prostitute,
    alluring, the mistress of sorceries,(A)
who enslaved nations by her prostitution(B)
    and peoples by her witchcraft.

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12 “Stand now with your enchantments
And the multitude of your sorceries,
In which you have labored from your youth—
Perhaps you will be able to profit,
Perhaps you will prevail.
13 (A)You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels;
Let now (B)the[a] astrologers, the stargazers,
And [b]the monthly prognosticators
Stand up and save you
From what shall come upon you.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 47:13 Lit. viewers of the heavens
  2. Isaiah 47:13 Lit. those giving knowledge for new moons

12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,(A)
    which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!(B)
    Let your astrologers(C) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save(D) you from what is coming upon you.

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Therefore her plagues will come (A)in one day—death and mourning and famine. And (B)she will be utterly burned with fire, (C)for strong is the Lord God who [a]judges her.

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

(D)“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her (E)will weep and lament for her, (F)when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, (G)‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! (H)For in one hour your judgment has come.’

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:8 NU, M has judged

Therefore in one day(A) her plagues will overtake her:
    death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,(B)
    for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her(C) and shared her luxury(D) see the smoke of her burning,(E) they will weep and mourn over her.(F) 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off(G) and cry:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(H)
    you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour(I) your doom has come!’

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15 [a]But (A)outside are (B)dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 22:15 NU, M omit But

15 Outside(A) are the dogs,(B) those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

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(A)But the cowardly, [a]unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in (B)the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 21:8 M adds and sinners,

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars(A)—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.(B) This is the second death.”(C)

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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, (A)“Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and (B)shall not be found anymore. 22 (C)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 (D)The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, (E)and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For (F)your merchants were the great men of the earth, (G)for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

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The Finality of Babylon’s Doom

21 Then a mighty angel(A) picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea,(B) and said:

“With such violence
    the great city(C) of Babylon will be thrown down,
    never to be found again.
22 The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters,
    will never be heard in you again.(D)
No worker of any trade
    will ever be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
    will never be heard in you again.(E)
23 The light of a lamp
    will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride
    will never be heard in you again.(F)
Your merchants were the world’s important people.(G)
    By your magic spell(H) all the nations were led astray.

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20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, (A)did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship (B)demons, (C)and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders (D)or their [a]sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 9:21 NU, M drugs

20 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent(A) of the work of their hands;(B) they did not stop worshiping demons,(C) and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.(D) 21 Nor did they repent(E) of their murders, their magic arts,(F) their sexual immorality(G) or their thefts.

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12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had (A)compassion on her and said to her, (B)“Do not weep.”

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12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord(A) saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

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(A)The king cried [a]aloud to bring in (B)the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; (C)and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:7 Lit. with strength

The king summoned the enchanters,(A) astrologers[a](B) and diviners.(C) Then he said to these wise(D) men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck,(E) and he will be made the third(F) highest ruler in the kingdom.”(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 5:7 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 11

(A)Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.

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When the magicians,(A) enchanters, astrologers[a] and diviners(B) came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 4:7 Or Chaldeans