Revelation 18:11-24
Contemporary English Version
11 (A) Every merchant on earth will mourn, because there is no one to buy their goods. 12 (B) There won't be anyone to buy their gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, sweet-smelling wood, fancy carvings of ivory and wood, as well as things made of bronze, iron, or marble. 13 No one will buy their cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, frankincense,[a] wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and other humans.
14 Babylon, the things
your heart desired
have all escaped
from you.
Every luxury
and all your glory
will be lost forever.
You will never
get them back.
15 (C) The merchants had become rich because of her. But when they saw her sufferings, they were terrified. They stood at a distance, crying and mourning. 16 Then they shouted,
“Pity the great city
of Babylon!
She dressed in fine linen
and wore purple
and scarlet cloth.
She had jewelry
made of gold
and precious stones
and pearls.
17 (D) Yet in a single hour
her riches disappeared.”
Every ship captain and passenger and sailor stood at a distance, together with everyone who does business by traveling on the sea. 18 (E) When they saw the smoke from her fire, they shouted, “This was the greatest city ever!”
19 (F) They cried loudly, and in their sorrow they threw dust on their heads, as they said,
“Pity the great city
of Babylon!
Everyone who sailed the seas
became rich
from her treasures.
But in a single hour
the city was destroyed.
20 (G) The heavens should be happy
with God's people
and apostles and prophets.
God has punished her
for them.”
21 (H) A powerful angel then picked up a huge stone and threw it into the sea. The angel said,
“This is how the great city
of Babylon
will be thrown down,
never to rise again.
22 (I)(J) The music of harps and singers
and of flutes and trumpets
will no longer be heard.
No workers will ever
set up shop in that city,
and the sound
of grinding grain
will be silenced forever.
23 Lamps will no longer shine
anywhere in Babylon,
and couples will never again
say wedding vows there.
Her merchants ruled
the earth,
and by her witchcraft
she fooled all nations.
24 (K) On the streets of Babylon
is found the blood
of God's people
and of his prophets,
and everyone else.”
Footnotes
- 18.13 myrrh, frankincense: Myrrh was a valuable sweet-smelling powder often used in perfume. Frankincense was a valuable powder that was burned to make a sweet smell.
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