The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17 Then ^(A)one of the seven angels who had ^(B)the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of ^(C)the great prostitute ^(D)who is seated on many waters,

¹⁵ And the angel^[a] said to me, ^(A)“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.

¹³ And God said to Noah, ^(A)“I have determined to make an end of all flesh,^[a] for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

¹⁹ And they threw ^(A)dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

¹¹ And ^(A)the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, ¹² cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, ¹³ cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.^[a]

^15 (B)The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, ^(C)will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

And ^(G)all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off

¹¹ Woe to them! For they walked in ^(A)the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain ^(B)to Balaam's error and ^(C)perished in Korah's rebellion. ¹² These are hidden reefs^{[a] (D)}at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, ^(E)shepherds feeding themselves; ^(F)waterless clouds, ^(G)swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, ^(H)uprooted; ^13 (I)wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of ^(J)their own shame; ^(K)wandering stars, ^(L)for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.