¹⁷ And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and ^(A)commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.

^12 (E)“Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. ^13 (F)Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered ^(G)human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. ¹⁴ Those from the house of ^(H)Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. ¹⁵ The men of ^(I)Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. ¹⁶ Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. ¹⁷ Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of ^(J)Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and ^(K)balm. ¹⁸ Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. ¹⁹ Dan and Javan paid for your wares, ^[d]traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. ^20 (L)Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. ²¹ Arabia and all the princes of ^(M)Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. ²² The merchants of ^(N)Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. ^23 (O)Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of ^(P)Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. ²⁴ These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace.

² For ^(A)true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He ^(B)has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

^9 (A)“The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her ^(B)will weep and lament for her, ^(C)when they see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰ standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ^(D)‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! ^(E)For in one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And ^(F)the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: ^12 (G)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 ^(H)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 ^[a]gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast

17 Then ^(A)one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying ^[a]to me, “Come, ^(B)I will show you the judgment of ^(C)the great harlot ^(D)who sits on many waters, ^2 (E)with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and ^(F)the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

³ So he carried me away in the Spirit ^(G)into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting ^(H)on a scarlet beast which was full of ^(I)names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(J)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, ^(K)and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, ^(L)having in her hand a golden cup ^(M)full of abominations and the filthiness of ^[b]her fornication. ⁵ And on her forehead a name was written:

^(N)MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

^2 (A)Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, ^(B)not by compulsion but ^[a]willingly, ^(C)not for dishonest gain but eagerly;

Qualifications of Deacons

⁸ Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, ^(A)not given to much wine, not greedy for money,

³ not ^[a]given to wine, not violent, ^[b]not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not ^[c]covetous;