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. 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.
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.”

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;
for (K)her sins are heaped high as heaven,
    and (L)God has remembered her iniquities.
(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.
(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.’
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.”

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

  1. Revelation 18:3 Some manuscripts fallen by
  2. Revelation 18:13 Or and slaves, and human lives

The Command to Rebuild the Temple

(A)In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to (B)Zerubbabel the son of (C)Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (D)Joshua the son of (E)Jehozadak, the high priest: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” Then the word of the Lord came (F)by the hand of Haggai the prophet, (G)“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while (H)this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: (I)Consider your ways. (J)You have sown much, and harvested little. (K)You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who (L)earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: (M)Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that (N)I may take pleasure in it and that (O)I may be glorified, says the Lord. (P)You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, (Q)I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house (R)that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore (S)the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And (T)I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on (U)the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and (V)on all their labors.”

The People Obey the Lord

12 (W)Then (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (Y)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all (Z)the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, (AA)“I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And (AB)the Lord stirred up the spirit of (AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of (AD)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all (AE)the remnant of the people. And they came and (AF)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 (AG)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

The Coming Glory of the Temple

(AH)In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: “Speak now to (AI)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (AJ)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, (AK)‘Who is left among you who saw this house (AL)in its former glory? How do you see it now? (AM)Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now (AN)be strong, O (AO)Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. (AP)Be strong, O (AQ)Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. (AR)Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. (AS)Work, for (AT)I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, (AU)according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. (AV)My Spirit remains in your midst. (AW)Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: (AX)Yet once more, in a little while, (AY)I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and (AZ)I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. (BA)The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. (BB)The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And (BC)in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

Blessings for a Defiled People

10 (BD)On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, (BE)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (BF)Ask the priests about the law: 12 ‘If someone carries (BG)holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, (BH)“No.” 13 Then Haggai said, (BI)“If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body (BJ)touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, (BK)“So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. 15 Now then, (BL)consider from this day onward.[a] Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16 how did you fare? (BM)When[b] one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17 (BN)I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, (BO)yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 18 (BP)Consider from this day onward, (BQ)from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since (BR)the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, (BS)consider: 19 (BT)Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on (BU)I will bless you.”

Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet

20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai (BV)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21 “Speak to (BW)Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, (BX)I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and (BY)to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and (BZ)overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, (CA)every one by the sword of his brother. 23 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O (CB)Zerubbabel (CC)my servant, the son of (CD)Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you (CE)like a[c] signet ring, (CF)for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”

Footnotes

  1. Haggai 2:15 Or backward; also verse 18
  2. Haggai 2:16 Probable reading (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Lord, since they were. When
  3. Haggai 2:23 Hebrew the

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