² And he cried ^[a]mightily with a loud voice, saying, ^(A)“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and ^(B)has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and ^(C)a cage for every unclean and hated bird! ³ For all the nations ^(D)have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, ^(E)and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the ^[b]abundance of her luxury.”

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.

²⁵ You built your high places ^(A)at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry. ²⁶ You also committed harlotry with ^(B)the Egyptians, your very fleshly neighbors, and increased your acts of harlotry to ^(C)provoke Me to anger.

²⁷ “Behold, therefore, I stretched out My hand against you, diminished your ^[a]allotment, and gave you up to the will of those who hate you, ^(D)the daughters of the Philistines, who were ashamed of your lewd behavior. ²⁸ You also played the harlot with the ^(E)Assyrians, because you were insatiable; indeed you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied. ²⁹ Moreover you multiplied your acts of harlotry as far as the land of the trader, ^(F)Chaldea; and even then you were not satisfied.

^23 (A)The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, ^(B)and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For ^(C)your merchants were the great men of the earth, ^(D)for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

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,

¹⁵ Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:

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.