¹⁸ “But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

³⁹ And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and ^(A)remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you ^(B)may not ^(C)follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined,

⁷ They shall no more offer their sacrifices ^(A)to ^[a]demons, after whom they ^(B)have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’

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.

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

Judgment of Israel’s Sin

⁴³ And ^(A)there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and ^(B)you shall ^[a]loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed.

³⁰ Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your ^(A)fathers, and committing harlotry according to their ^(B)abominations? ³¹ For when you offer ^(C)your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will ^(D)not be inquired of by you.