Babylon’s fall

18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was filled with light because of his glory. ² He called out with a loud voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a home for demons and a lair for every unclean spirit. She is a lair for every unclean bird, and a lair for every unclean and disgusting beast ³ because all the nations have fallen^[a] due to the wine of her lustful passion. The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth became rich from the power of her loose and extravagant ways.”

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven say, “Come out of her, my people, so that you don’t take part in her sins and don’t receive any of her plagues. ⁵ Her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God remembered her unjust acts. ⁶ Give her what she has given to others. Give her back twice as much for what she has done. In the cup that she has poured, pour her twice as much. ⁷ To the extent that she glorified herself and indulged her loose and extravagant ways, give her pain and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit like a queen! I’m not a widow. I’ll never see grief.’ ⁸ This is why her plagues will come in a single day—deadly disease, grief, and hunger. She will be consumed by fire because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.

⁹ “The kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality with her and shared her loose and extravagant ways, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke from her burning. ¹⁰ They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of the pain she suffers, and they will say, ‘Oh, the horror! Babylon, you great city, you powerful city! In a single hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹ “The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their cargoes anymore— ¹² cargoes of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all those things made of scented wood, ivory, fine wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ cinnamon, incense, fragrant ointment, and frankincense; wine, oil, fine flour, and wheat; cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; and slaves, even human lives. ¹⁴ ‘The fruit your whole being craved has gone from you. All your glitter and glamour are lost to you, never ever to be found again.’

¹⁵ “The merchants who sold these things, and got so rich by her, will stand a long way off because they fear the pain she suffers. They will weep and mourn, and say, ¹⁶ ‘Oh, the horror! The great city that wore fine linen, purple, and scarlet, who glittered with gold, jewels, and pearls— ¹⁷ in just one hour such great wealth was destroyed.’

“Every sea captain, every seafarer, sailors, and all who make their living on the sea stood a long way off. ¹⁸ They cried out as they saw the smoke from her burning and said, ‘What city was ever like the great city?’ ¹⁹ They threw dust on their heads, and they cried out, weeping and mourning. They said, ‘Oh, the horror! The great city, where all who have ships at sea became so rich by her prosperity—in just one hour she was destroyed. ²⁰ Rejoice over her, heaven—you saints, apostles, and prophets—because God has condemned her as she condemned you.’”

²¹ Then a powerful angel picked up a stone that was like a huge millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “With such violent force the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, and it won’t be found anymore. ²² The sound of harpists and musicians, of pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard among you again. No craftsman of any kind will ever be found among you again. The sound of the hand mill will never be heard among you again. ²³ The light of a lamp will never shine among you again. The sound of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard among you again because your merchants ran the world, because all the nations were deceived by the spell you cast, and because ²⁴ the blood of prophets, of saints, and of all who have been slaughtered on the earth was found among you.”^[b]