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All this because Nineveh,
    the beautiful and faithless city,
mistress of deadly charms,
    enticed the nations with her beauty.
She taught them all her magic,
    enchanting people everywhere.

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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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Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment:
    widowhood and the loss of your children.
Yes, these calamities will come upon you,
    despite all your witchcraft and magic.

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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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12 “Now use your magical charms!
    Use the spells you have worked at all these years!
Maybe they will do you some good.
    Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
13 All the advice you receive has made you tired.
    Where are all your astrologers,
those stargazers who make predictions each month?
    Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.

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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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He gave a mighty shout:

“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
    She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul[a] spirit,
    a hideout for every foul vulture
    and every foul and dreadful animal.[b]
For all the nations have fallen[c]
    because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
    have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
    the merchants of the world have grown rich.”

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Footnotes

  1. 18:2a Greek unclean; also in each of the two following phrases.
  2. 18:2b Some manuscripts condense the last two lines to read a hideout for every foul [unclean] and dreadful vulture.
  3. 18:3 Some manuscripts read have drunk.

With a mighty voice he shouted:

“‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’[a](A)
    She has become a dwelling for demons
and a haunt for every impure spirit,(B)
    a haunt for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.(C)
For all the nations have drunk
    the maddening wine of her adulteries.(D)
The kings of the earth committed adultery with her,(E)
    and the merchants of the earth grew rich(F) from her excessive luxuries.”(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:2 Isaiah 21:9

The Great Prostitute

17 One of the seven angels who had poured out the seven bowls came over and spoke to me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you the judgment that is going to come on the great prostitute, who rules over many waters. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”

So the angel took me in the Spirit[a] into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns, and blasphemies against God were written all over it. The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality. A mysterious name was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World.”

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Footnotes

  1. 17:3 Or in spirit.

Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast

17 One of the seven angels(A) who had the seven bowls(B) came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment(C) of the great prostitute,(D) who sits by many waters.(E) With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”(F)

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit(G) into a wilderness.(H) There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet(I) beast that was covered with blasphemous names(J) and had seven heads and ten horns.(K) The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls.(L) She held a golden cup(M) in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.(N) The name written on her forehead was a mystery:(O)

babylon the great(P)

the mother of prostitutes(Q)

and of the abominations of the earth.

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25 On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution. 26 Then you added lustful Egypt to your lovers, provoking my anger with your increasing promiscuity. 27 That is why I struck you with my fist and reduced your boundaries. I handed you over to your enemies, the Philistines, and even they were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You have prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, too. It seems you can never find enough new lovers! And after your prostitution there, you still were not satisfied. 29 You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia,[a] the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.

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Footnotes

  1. 16:29 Or Chaldea.

25 At every street corner(A) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(B) 26 You engaged in prostitution(C) with the Egyptians,(D) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger(E) with your increasing promiscuity.(F) 27 So I stretched out my hand(G) against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over(H) to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines,(I) who were shocked by your lewd conduct. 28 You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians(J) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.(K) 29 Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,[a](L) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea

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.

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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.(A)
Your merchants were the world’s important people.(B)
    By your magic spell(C) all the nations were led astray.

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And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.

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Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her(A) and shared her luxury(B) see the smoke of her burning,(C) they will weep and mourn over her.(D)

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15 For seventy years, the length of a king’s life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life as in the song about the prostitute:

16 Take a harp and walk the streets,
    you forgotten harlot.
Make sweet melody and sing your songs
    so you will be remembered again.

17 Yes, after seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will again be a prostitute to all kingdoms around the world.

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15 At that time Tyre(A) will be forgotten for seventy years,(B) the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:

16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
    you forgotten prostitute;(C)
play the harp well, sing many a song,
    so that you will be remembered.”

17 At the end of seventy years,(D) the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution(E) and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.(F)

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