^45 (A)But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,

⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master ^(A)is delaying ^[a]his coming,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is ^(B)not aware of,

²⁴ And ^(A)in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who ^(B)were slain on the earth.”

^7 (A)In the measure that she glorified herself and lived ^[a]luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as ^(B)queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.’ ⁸ Therefore her plagues will come ^(C)in one day—death and mourning and famine. And ^(D)she will be utterly burned with fire, ^(E)for strong is the Lord God who ^[b]judges her.

⁵ And on her forehead a name was written:

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

⁶ I saw ^(B)the woman, drunk ^(C)with the blood of the saints and with the blood of ^(D)the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

¹⁵ He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak ^(A)and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, ^(B)to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has ^[a]the mark or ^(C)the name of the beast, ^(D)or the number of his name.

⁷ It was granted to him ^(A)to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And ^(B)authority was given him over every ^[a]tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, ^(C)whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain ^(D)from the foundation of the world.

^9 (E)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. ^10 (F)He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; ^(G)he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. ^(H)Here is the ^[b]patience and the faith of the saints.

Apostates Depraved and Doomed

¹² These are ^[a]spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried ^[b]about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; ^13 (A)raging waves of the sea, ^(B)foaming up their own shame; wandering stars ^(C)for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.