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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Fall of Babylon
18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined by his splendor.(A) 2 He called out with a mighty voice,
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
It has become a dwelling place of demons,
a haunt of every foul spirit,
a haunt of every foul bird,
a haunt of every foul and hateful beast.[a](B)
3 For all the nations have fallen[b]
from the wine of the wrath of her prostitution,
and the kings of the earth have engaged in sexual immorality[c] with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power[d] of her luxury.”(C)
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
“Come out of her, my people,
so that you do not take part in her sins
and so that you do not share in her plagues,(D)
5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.(E)
6 Render to her as she herself has rendered,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double dose for her in the cup she mixed.(F)
7 As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
so give her a like measure of torment and grief.
Since in her heart she says,
‘I rule as a queen;
I am no widow,
and I will never see grief,’(G)
8 therefore her plagues will come in a single day—
pestilence and mourning and famine—
and she will be burned with fire,
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”(H)
9 And the kings of the earth, who engaged in sexual immorality[e] and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;(I) 10 they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas, alas, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in one hour your judgment has come.”(J)
11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo any more, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble,(K) 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.[f](L)
14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendor
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
15 The merchants of these wares, who grew wealthy from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,(M)
16 “Alas, alas, the great city,
clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!(N)
17 For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste!”
And all shipmasters and seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off(O) 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,
“What city was like the great city?”(P)
19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, the great city,
where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For in one hour she has been laid waste.”(Q)
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her condemnation of you.(R)
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“With such violence Babylon the great city
will be thrown down
and will be found no more;(S)
22 and the sound of harpists and entertainers and of flutists and trumpeters
will be heard in you no more,
and an artisan of any trade
will be found in you no more,
and the sound of the millstone
will be heard in you no more,(T)
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for your merchants were the magnates of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.(U)
24 And in you[g] was found the blood of prophets and of saints
and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”(V)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.