Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

“When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her(A) and shared her luxury(B) see the smoke of her burning,(C) they will weep and mourn over her.(D) 10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off(E) and cry:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(F)
    you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour(G) your doom has come!’

11 “The merchants(H) of the earth will weep and mourn(I) over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore(J) 12 cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;(K) 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves.(L)

14 “They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’ 15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her(M) will stand far off,(N) terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn(O) 16 and cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(P)
    dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet,
    and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!(Q)
17 In one hour(R) such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’(S)

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,(T) will stand far off.(U) 18 When they see the smoke of her burning,(V) they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city(W)?’(X) 19 They will throw dust on their heads,(Y) and with weeping and mourning(Z) cry out:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(AA)
    where all who had ships on the sea
    became rich through her wealth!
In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’(AB)

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And the kings of the earth, who engaged in sexual immorality[a] and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;(A) 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.”(B)

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,(C) 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.[b](D)

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,(E)

16 “Alas, alas, the great city,
    clothed in fine linen,
        in purple and scarlet,
    adorned with gold,
        with jewels, and with pearls!(F)
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(G) 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

“What city was like the great city?”(H)

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.”(I)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.9 Or prostitution
  2. 18.13 Or chariots, and human bodies and souls