Revelation 17-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Great Whore and the Beast
17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore[a] who is seated on many waters,(A) 2 with whom the kings of the earth have engaged in sexual immorality[b] and with the wine of whose prostitution the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk.”(B) 3 So he carried me away in the spirit[c] into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.(C) 4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her prostitution,(D) 5 and on her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the great, mother[d] of whores[e] and of earth’s abominations.”(E) 6 And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.
When I saw her, I was greatly amazed.(F) 7 But the angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was and is not and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.(G)
9 “This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings,(H) 10 of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth, but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.(I) 13 These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; 14 they will wage war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”(J)
15 And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore[f] is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.(K) 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore;[g] they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire.(L) 17 For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.(M) 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”(N)
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.(O) 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.[h](P)
3 For all the nations have fallen[i]
from the wine of the wrath of her prostitution,
and the kings of the earth have engaged in sexual immorality[j] with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power[k] of her luxury.”(Q)
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,(R)
5 for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.(S)
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.(T)
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,’(U)
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.”(V)
9 And the kings of the earth, who engaged in sexual immorality[l] and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;(W) 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.”(X)
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,(Y) 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.[m](Z)
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,(AA)
16 “Alas, alas, the great city,
clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!(AB)
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(AC) 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,
“What city was like the great city?”(AD)
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.”(AE)
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her condemnation of you.(AF)
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;(AG)
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,(AH)
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.(AI)
24 And in you[n] was found the blood of prophets and of saints
and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”(AJ)
Footnotes
- 17.1 Or prostitute
- 17.2 Or prostitution
- 17.3 Or in the Spirit
- 17.5 Or Babylon, the great mother
- 17.5 Or prostitutes
- 17.15 Or prostitute
- 17.16 Or prostitute
- 18.2 Other ancient authorities read a haunt of every foul and hateful bird
- 18.3 Other ancient authorities read all the nations have drunk
- 18.3 Or prostitution
- 18.3 Or resources
- 18.9 Or prostitution
- 18.13 Or chariots, and human bodies and souls
- 18.24 Gk her
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.