Revelation 18
English Standard Version
The Fall of Babylon
18 After this I saw (A)another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and (B)the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,
(C)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become (D)a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt (E)for every unclean spirit,
a haunt (F)for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk[a]
(G)the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and (H)the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and (I)the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
(J)“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5 for (K)her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and (L)God has remembered her iniquities.
6 (M)Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her (N)double for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her (O)in the cup she mixed.
7 (P)As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
(Q)‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.’
8 For this reason her plagues will come (R)in a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and (S)she will be burned up with fire;
for (T)mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
9 And (U)the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, (V)will weep and wail over her (W)when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 (X)They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! Alas! (Y)You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For (Z)in a single hour your judgment has come.”
11 And (AA)the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.[b]
14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
15 (AB)The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, (AC)will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
(AD)that was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For (AE)in a single hour all this wealth (AF)has been laid waste.”
And (AG)all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and (AH)cried out (AI)as they saw the smoke of her burning,
(AJ)“What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw (AK)dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, for the great city
(AL)where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For (AM)in a single hour she has been laid waste.
20 (AN)Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and (AO)apostles and prophets,
for (AP)God has given judgment for you against her!”
21 Then (AQ)a mighty angel (AR)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon (AS)the great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22 and (AT)the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and (AU)the sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and (AV)the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for (AW)your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived (AX)by your sorcery.
24 And (AY)in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of (AZ)all who have been slain on earth.”
Footnotes
- Revelation 18:3 Some manuscripts fallen by
- Revelation 18:13 Or and slaves, and human lives
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
Revelation 18
Good News Translation
The Fall of Babylon
18 After this I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and his splendor brightened the whole earth. 2 (A)He cried out in a loud voice: “She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She is now haunted by demons and unclean spirits; all kinds of filthy and hateful birds live in her. 3 (B)For all the nations have drunk her wine—the strong wine of her immoral lust. The kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the world grew rich from her unrestrained lust.”
4 (C)Then I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
“Come out, my people! Come out from her!
You must not take part in her sins;
you must not share in her punishment!
5 (D)For her sins are piled up as high as heaven,
and God remembers her wicked ways.
6 (E)Treat her exactly as she has treated you;
pay her back double for all she has done.
Fill her cup with a drink twice as strong
as the drink she prepared for you.
7 (F)Give her as much suffering and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
For she keeps telling herself:
‘Here I sit, a queen!
I am no widow,
I will never know grief’
8 Because of this, in one day she will be struck with plagues—
disease, grief, and famine.
And she will be burned with fire,
because the Lord God, who judges her, is mighty.”
9 (G)The kings of the earth who took part in her immorality and lust will cry and weep over the city when they see the smoke from the flames that consume her. 10 They stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They say, “How terrible! How awful! This great and mighty city Babylon! In just one hour you have been punished!”
11 (H)The merchants of the earth also cry and mourn for her, because no one buys their goods any longer; 12 (I)no one buys their gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; their goods of linen, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth; all kinds of rare woods and all kinds of objects made of ivory and of expensive wood, of bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages, slaves, and even human lives. 14 The merchants say to her, “All the good things you longed to own have disappeared, and all your wealth and glamor are gone, and you will never find them again!” 15 (J)The merchants, who became rich from doing business in that city, will stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They will cry and mourn, 16 and say, “How terrible! How awful for the great city! She used to dress herself in linen, purple, and scarlet, and cover herself with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls! 17 (K)And in one hour she has lost all this wealth!”
All the ships' captains and passengers, the sailors and all others who earn their living on the sea, stood a long way off, 18 (L)and cried out as they saw the smoke from the flames that consumed her: “There never has been another city like this great city!” 19 (M)They threw dust on their heads, they cried and mourned, saying, “How terrible! How awful for the great city! She is the city where all who have ships sailing the seas became rich on her wealth! And in one hour she has lost everything!”
20 (N)Be glad, heaven, because of her destruction! Be glad, God's people and the apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her for what she did to you!
21 (O)Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “This is how the great city Babylon will be violently thrown down and will never be seen again. 22 (P)The music of harps and of human voices, of players of the flute and the trumpet, will never be heard in you again! No workman in any trade will ever be found in you again; and the sound of the millstone will be heard no more! 23 Never again will the light of a lamp be seen in you; no more will the voices of brides and grooms be heard in you. Your merchants were the most powerful in all the world, and with your false magic you deceived all the peoples of the world!”
24 (Q)Babylon was punished because the blood of prophets and of God's people was found in the city; yes, the blood of all those who have been killed on earth.
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