18 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.

How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16 And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.

21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;

23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

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. 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. 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.”

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; for her sins have [f](L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has (M)remembered her offenses. (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. (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.’ 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

“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

  1. Revelation 18:2 Lit Babylon...fell, fell
  2. Revelation 18:2 Or haunt
  3. Revelation 18:2 Or haunt
  4. Revelation 18:3 Lit power
  5. Revelation 18:3 Or sensuality
  6. Revelation 18:5 Lit joined together
  7. Revelation 18:6 Lit double to her
  8. Revelation 18:8 Lit death; i.e., a particular kind of death
  9. Revelation 18:12 Lit stone
  10. Revelation 18:12 Or brass
  11. Revelation 18:13 Gr amomon, an Indian spice plant
  12. Revelation 18:13 Lit bodies
  13. Revelation 18:14 Lit of your soul’s desire
  14. Revelation 18:16 Lit gilded
  15. Revelation 18:16 Lit stone and pearl
  16. Revelation 18:17 Lit one who sails to a place
  17. Revelation 18:17 Lit work the sea
  18. Revelation 18:20 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
  19. Revelation 18:20 Lit judged your judgment of her
  20. Revelation 18:21 Lit one
  21. Revelation 18:24 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people