Revelation 17-19

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Doom of Babylon

17 ^(A)Then one of the ^(B)seven angels who had the ^(C)seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you ^(D)the judgment of the ^(E)great harlot who ^(F)sits on many waters, ² with whom ^(G)the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and ^(H)those who dwell on the earth were ^(I)made drunk with the wine of her immorality.” ³ And ^(J)he carried me away ^[a](K)in the Spirit ^(L)into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a ^(M)scarlet beast, full of ^(N)blasphemous names, having ^(O)seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman ^(P)was clothed in purple and scarlet, and ^[b]adorned with gold and precious ^[c]stones and pearls, having in her hand ^(Q)a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, ⁵ and on her forehead a name was written, a ^(R)mystery, “^(S)BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF ^(T)THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” ⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with ^(U)the blood of the ^[d]saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered ^[e]greatly. ⁷ And the angel said to me, “Why ^[f]do you wonder? I will tell you the ^(V)mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the ^(W)seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸ “^(X)The beast that you saw ^(Y)was, and is not, and is about to ^(Z)come up out of the ^(AA)abyss and ^[g](AB)go to destruction. And ^(AC)those who dwell on the earth, ^(AD)whose name has not been written in the book of life ^(AE)from the foundation of the world, will ^(AF)wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. ^9 (AG)Here is the mind which has wisdom. The ^(AH)seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, ¹⁰ and they are seven ^(AI)kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. ¹¹ The beast which ^(AJ)was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he ^(AK)goes to destruction. ¹² The ^(AL)ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast ^(AM)for one hour. ¹³ These have ^(AN)one ^[h]purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

Victory for the Lamb

¹⁴ These will wage ^(AO)war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will ^(AP)overcome them, because He is ^(AQ)Lord of lords and ^(AR)King of kings, and ^(AS)those who are with Him are the ^(AT)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵ And he *said to me, “The ^(AU)waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are ^(AV)peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ^(AW)ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her ^(AX)desolate and ^(AY)naked, and will ^(AZ)eat her flesh and will ^(BA)burn her up with fire. ¹⁷ For ^(BB)God has put it in their hearts to execute His ^[i]purpose ^[j]by ^(BC)having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the ^(BD)words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸ The woman whom you saw is ^(BE)the great city, which ^[k]reigns over the kings of the earth.”

Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another ^(BF)angel ^(BG)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(BH)illumined with his glory. ² And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “^[l](BI)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(BJ)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^[m]prison of every ^(BK)unclean spirit, and a ^[n]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. ³ For all the nations ^[o]have drunk of the ^(BL)wine of the ^[p]passion of her immorality, and ^(BM)the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the ^(BN)merchants of the earth have become rich by the ^[q]wealth of her ^[r](BO)sensuality.”

⁴ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “^(BP)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; ⁵ for her sins have ^[s](BQ)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(BR)remembered her iniquities. ^6 (BS)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^[t]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(BT)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ^7 (BU)To the degree that she glorified herself and ^(BV)lived ^[u]sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘^(BW)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ⁸ For this reason ^(BX)in one day her plagues will come, ^[v]pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(BY)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(BZ)is strong.

Lament for Babylon

⁹ “And ^(CA)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and ^(CB)lived ^[w]sensuously with her, will ^(CC)weep and lament over her when they ^(CD)see the smoke of her burning, ^10 (CE)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘^(CF)Woe, woe, ^(CG)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(CH)one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “And the ^(CI)merchants of the earth ^(CJ)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— ¹² cargoes of ^(CK)gold and silver and precious ^[x]stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and ^[y]bronze and iron and marble, ¹³ and cinnamon and ^[z]spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and ^[aa]slaves and ^[ab](CL)human lives. ¹⁴ The fruit ^[ac]you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. ¹⁵ The ^(CM)merchants of ^(CN)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(CO)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶ saying, ‘^(CP)Woe, woe, ^(CQ)the great city, she who ^(CR)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[ad]adorned with gold and precious ^[ae]stones and pearls; ¹⁷ for in ^(CS)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(CT)waste!’ And ^(CU)every shipmaster and every ^[af]passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, ^(CV)stood at a distance, ¹⁸ and were ^(CW)crying out as they ^(CX)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘^(CY)What city is like ^(CZ)the great city?’ ¹⁹ And they threw ^(DA)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘^(DB)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(DC)became rich by her ^[ag]wealth, for in ^(DD)one hour she has been laid ^(DE)waste!’ ^20 (DF)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[ah]saints and ^(DG)apostles and prophets, because ^(DH)God has ^[ai]pronounced judgment for you against her.”

²¹ Then ^[aj]a ^(DI)strong angel ^(DJ)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, ^(DK)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(DL)will not be found any longer. ²² And ^(DM)the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the ^(DN)sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; ²³ and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the ^(DO)voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your ^(DP)merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(DQ)by your sorcery. ²⁴ And in her was found the ^(DR)blood of prophets and of ^[ak]saints and of ^(DS)all who have been slain on the earth.”

The Fourfold Hallelujah

19 After these things I heard something like a ^(DT)loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“^(DU)Hallelujah! ^(DV)Salvation and ^(DW)glory and power belong to our God; ^2 (DX)because His ^(DY)judgments are ^(DZ)true and righteous; for He has judged the ^(EA)great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has ^(EB)avenged the blood of His bond-servants ^[al]on her.” ³ And a second time they said, “^(EC)Hallelujah! ^(ED)Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” ⁴ And the ^(EE)twenty-four elders and the ^(EF)four living creatures ^(EG)fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “^(EH)Amen. ^(EI)Hallelujah!” ⁵ And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“^(EJ)Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, ^(EK)you who fear Him, the small and the great.” ⁶ Then I heard something like ^(EL)the voice of a great multitude and like ^(EM)the sound of many waters and like the ^(EN)sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“^(EO)Hallelujah! For the ^(EP)Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Marriage of the Lamb

⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad and ^(EQ)give the glory to Him, for ^(ER)the marriage of the Lamb has come and His ^[am](ES)bride has made herself ready.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in ^(ET)fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the ^(EU)righteous acts of the ^[an]saints.

⁹ Then ^(EV)he *said to me, “^(EW)Write, ‘^(EX)Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “^(EY)These are true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then ^(EZ)I fell at his feet to worship him. ^(FA)But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a ^(FB)fellow servant of yours and your brethren who ^(FC)hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Coming of Christ

¹¹ And I saw ^(FD)heaven opened, and behold, a ^(FE)white horse, and He who sat on it is called ^(FF)Faithful and True, and in ^(FG)righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His ^(FH)eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many ^(FI)diadems; and He has a ^(FJ)name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a ^(FK)robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ^(FL)The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in ^(FM)fine linen, ^(FN)white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ^15 (FO)From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that ^(FP)with it He may strike down the nations, and He will ^[ao](FQ)rule them with a rod of iron; and ^(FR)He treads the ^[ap]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has ^(FS)a name written, “^(FT)KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷ Then I saw ^[aq]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to ^(FU)all the birds which fly in ^(FV)midheaven, “^(FW)Come, assemble for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may ^(FX)eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of ^[ar]commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, ^(FY)both free men and slaves, and ^(FZ)small and great.”

¹⁹ And I saw ^(GA)the beast and ^(GB)the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who ^(GC)sat on the horse and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the ^(GD)false prophet who ^(GE)performed the signs ^[as](GF)in his presence, by which he ^(GG)deceived those who had received the ^(GH)mark of the beast and those who ^(GI)worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the ^(GJ)lake of ^(GK)fire which burns with ^[at]brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which ^(GL)came from the mouth of Him who ^(GM)sat on the horse, and ^(GN)all the birds were filled with their flesh.