¹⁶ The scarlet beast and his ten horns all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire.

⁹ “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she also defiles her father’s holiness, and she must be burned to death.

³⁷ this is what I am going to do. I will gather together all your allies—the lovers with whom you have sinned, both those you loved and those you hated—and I will strip you naked in front of them so they can stare at you. ³⁸ I will punish you for your murder and adultery. I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury. ³⁹ Then I will give you to these many nations who are your lovers, and they will destroy you. They will knock down your pagan shrines and the altars to your idols. They will strip you and take your beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked. ⁴⁰ They will band together in a mob to stone you and cut you up with swords. ⁴¹ They will burn your homes and punish you in front of many women. I will stop your prostitution and end your payments to your many lovers.

⁴² “Then at last my fury against you will be spent, and my jealous anger will subside. I will be calm and will not be angry with you anymore. ⁴³ But first, because you have not remembered your youth but have angered me by doing all these evil things, I will fully repay you for all of your sins, says the Sovereign Lord. For you have added lewd acts to all your detestable sins. ⁴⁴ Everyone who makes up proverbs will say of you, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’

And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.

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. ² 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.”

¹⁹ And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,

⁴⁵ But righteous people will judge these sister cities for what they really are—adulterers and murderers.

⁴⁶ “Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring an army against them and hand them over to be terrorized and plundered. ⁴⁷ For their enemies will stone them and kill them with swords. They will butcher their sons and daughters and burn their homes. ⁴⁸ In this way, I will put an end to lewdness and idolatry in the land, and my judgment will be a warning to all women not to follow your wicked example. ⁴⁹ You will be fully repaid for all your prostitution—your worship of idols. Yes, you will suffer the full penalty. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.”

¹⁸ Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”