⁵ “O beautiful Babylon, sit now in darkness and silence.
    Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms.

²⁰ But the Lord is in his holy Temple.
    Let all the earth be silent before him.”

⁷ You said, ‘I will reign forever as queen of the world!’
    You did not reflect on your actions
    or think about their consequences.

“Just like this, the great city Babylon
    will be thrown down with violence
    and will never be found again.
²² The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets
    will never be heard in you again.
No craftsmen and no trades
    will ever be found in you again.
The sound of the mill
    will never be heard in you again.
²³ The light of a lamp
    will never shine in you again.
The happy voices of brides and grooms
    will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
    and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.
²⁴ In your^[a] streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
    and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”

¹⁶ “How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
    She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
    decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!
¹⁷ In a single moment
    all the wealth of the city is gone!”

“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
    The shipowners became wealthy
    by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.”

⁷ 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.’