Revelation 18
Christian Standard Bible
The Fall of Babylon the Great
18 After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven,(A) and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. 2 He called out in a mighty voice:
It has fallen,[a]
Babylon the Great has fallen!(B)
She has become a home for demons,
a haunt for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
and a haunt[b] for every unclean and despicable beast.[c](C)
3 For all the nations have drunk[d]
the wine of her sexual immorality,
which brings wrath.(D)
The kings of the earth
have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth
have grown wealthy from her sensuality and excess.(E)
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven:
Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins(F)
or receive any of her plagues.
5 For her sins are piled up[e] to heaven,(G)
and God has remembered her crimes.(H)
6 Pay her back the way she also paid,(I)
and double it according to her works.(J)
In the cup in which she mixed,(K)
mix a double portion for her.
7 As much as she glorified herself and indulged her sensual and excessive ways,
give her that much torment and grief.
For she says in her heart,
“I sit as a queen;
I am not a widow,
and I will never see grief.”(L)
8 For this reason her plagues will come in just one day—
death and grief and famine.(M)
She will be burned up with fire,(N)
because the Lord God who judges(O) her is mighty.(P)
The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall
9 The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and shared her sensual and excessive ways will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from her burning. 10 They will stand far off in fear of her torment,(Q) saying,
Woe, woe, the great city,(R)
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in a single hour
your judgment has come.
11 The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer— 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass,[f] iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, spice,[g] incense, myrrh,[h] and frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves—human lives.(S)
14 The fruit you craved has left you.
All your splendid and glamorous things are gone;
they will never find them again.
15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying,
Woe, woe, the great city,
dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,
adorned with gold, jewels, and pearls;(T)
17 for in a single hour
such fabulous wealth was destroyed!
And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off 18 as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out, “Who was like the great city?” (U) 19 They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning,(V)
Woe, woe, the great city,(W)
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth;
for in a single hour she was destroyed.
20 Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,(X)
because God has pronounced on her the judgment(Y) she passed on you!
The Finality of Babylon’s Fall
21 Then a mighty angel(Z) picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
In this way, Babylon the great city
will be thrown down violently(AA)
and never be found again.(AB)
22 The sound of harpists, musicians,
flutists, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you again;(AC)
no craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the sound of a mill
will never be heard in you again;
23 the light of a lamp
will never shine in you again;
and the voice of a groom and bride
will never be heard in you again.(AD)
All this will happen
because your merchants
were the nobility of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery.
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints,(AE)
and of all those slaughtered on the earth.(AF)
Footnotes
- 18:2 Other mss omit It has fallen
- 18:2 Or prison
- 18:2 Other mss omit the words and a haunt for every unclean beast. The words and despicable then refer to the bird of the previous line.
- 18:3 Some mss read collapsed; other mss read fallen
- 18:5 Or sins have reached up
- 18:12 Or bronze, or copper
- 18:13 Other mss omit spice
- 18:13 Or perfume
Revelation 18
New American Standard Bible
Babylon Is Fallen
18 After these things I saw another (A)angel (B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was (C)illuminated from his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “[a](D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She (E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a [b]prison of every (F)unclean spirit, and a [c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all the nations have fallen because of the (G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and (H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the (I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the [d]excessive wealth of her [e](J)luxury.”
4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; 5 for her sins have [f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has (M)remembered her offenses. 6 (N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and [g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the (O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 (P)To the extent that she glorified herself and (Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason (S)in one day her plagues will come, [h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be (T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her (U)is strong.
Grief over Babylon
9 “And (V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and (W)lived luxuriously with her, will (X)weep and mourn over her when they (Y)see the smoke of her burning, 10 (Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘(AA)Woe, woe, (AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in (AC)one hour your judgment has come.’
11 “And the (AD)merchants of the earth (AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— 12 cargo of (AF)gold, silver, precious [i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, [j]bronze, iron, and marble; 13 cinnamon, [k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, [l]slaves, and (AG)human lives. 14 The fruit [m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. 15 The (AH)merchants of (AI)these things, who became rich from her, will (AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying, ‘(AK)Woe, woe, (AL)the great city, she who (AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and [n]adorned with gold, precious [o]stones, and pearls; 17 for in (AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid (AO)waste!’ And (AP)every shipmaster and every [p]passenger and sailor, and all who [q]make their living by the sea, (AQ)stood at a distance, 18 and were (AR)crying out as they (AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘(AT)What city is like (AU)the great city?’ 19 And they threw (AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea (AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in (AY)one hour she has been laid (AZ)waste!’ 20 (BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you [r]saints and (BB)apostles and prophets, because (BC)God has [s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”
21 Then [t]a (BD)strong angel (BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, (BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and (BG)will never be found again. 22 And (BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the (BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; 23 and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the (BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your (BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived (BL)by your witchcraft. 24 And in her was found the (BM)blood of prophets and of [u]saints, and of (BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 18:2 Lit Babylon...fell, fell
- Revelation 18:2 Or haunt
- Revelation 18:2 Or haunt
- Revelation 18:3 Lit power
- Revelation 18:3 Or sensuality
- Revelation 18:5 Lit joined together
- Revelation 18:6 Lit double to her
- Revelation 18:8 Lit death; i.e., a particular kind of death
- Revelation 18:12 Lit stone
- Revelation 18:12 Or brass
- Revelation 18:13 Gr amomon, an Indian spice plant
- Revelation 18:13 Lit bodies
- Revelation 18:14 Lit of your soul’s desire
- Revelation 18:16 Lit gilded
- Revelation 18:16 Lit stone and pearl
- Revelation 18:17 Lit one who sails to a place
- Revelation 18:17 Lit work the sea
- Revelation 18:20 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
- Revelation 18:20 Lit judged your judgment of her
- Revelation 18:21 Lit one
- Revelation 18:24 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
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