⁶ For at ^(I)the window of my house
    I have looked out through my lattice,
⁷ and I have seen among ^(J)the simple,
    I have perceived among the youths,
    a young man ^(K)lacking sense,
⁸ passing along the street ^(L)near her corner,
    taking the road to her house
⁹ in ^(M)the twilight, in the evening,
    at ^(N)the time of night and darkness.

¹⁰ And behold, the woman meets him,
    ^(O)dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.^[c]
11 She is ^(P)loud and ^(Q)wayward;
    ^(R)her feet do not stay at home;
¹² now in the street, now in the market,
    and ^(S)at every corner she ^(T)lies in wait.
¹³ She seizes him and kisses him,
    and with ^(U)bold face she says to him,
¹⁴ “I had to ^(V)offer sacrifices,^[d]
    and today I have ^(W)paid my vows;
¹⁵ so now I have come out to meet you,
    to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
¹⁶ I have spread my couch with ^(X)coverings,
    colored linens from ^(Y)Egyptian linen;
¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed with ^(Z)myrrh,
    aloes, and ^(AA)cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.
¹⁹ For ^(AB)my husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey;
²⁰ he took a bag of money with him;
    at full moon he will come home.”

²¹ With much seductive speech she persuades him;
    with ^(AC)her smooth talk she compels him.
²² All at once he follows her,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast^[e]
23     till an arrow pierces its liver;
as ^(AD)a bird rushes into a snare;
    he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴ And ^(AE)now, O sons, listen to me,
    and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
²⁵ Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
²⁶ for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are ^(AF)a mighty throng.
²⁷ Her house is ^(AG)the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death.

^(A)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    She has become ^(B)a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt ^(C)for every unclean spirit,
    a haunt ^(D)for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.

^(A)“Come out of her, my people,
    lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
⁵ for ^(B)her sins are heaped high as heaven,
    and ^(C)God has remembered her iniquities.
^6 (D)Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
    and repay her ^(E)double for her deeds;
    mix a double portion for her ^(F)in the cup she mixed.
^7 (G)As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
    so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
    ^(H)‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
    and mourning I shall never see.’
⁸ For this reason her plagues will come ^(I)in a single day,
    death and mourning and famine,
and ^(J)she will be burned up with fire;
    for ^(K)mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

“Alas! Alas! ^(P)You great city,
    you mighty city, Babylon!
For ^(Q)in a single hour your judgment has come.”

“So will Babylon ^(F)the great city be thrown down with violence,
    and will be found no more;
²² and ^(G)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 ^(H)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 ^(I)the voice of bridegroom and bride
    will be heard in you no more,
for ^(J)your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
    and all nations were deceived ^(K)by your sorcery.
²⁴ And ^(L)in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
    and of ^(M)all who have been slain on earth.”