Book of Common Prayer

¹⁵ The merchants who sold these things, and who made themselves rich from her, will stand a long way off for fear of her tortures. They will weep and mourn, ¹⁶ and say, “Alas, alas! The great city! It was clothed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, decked out in gold, precious stones and pearls— ¹⁷ but in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!”

All the master mariners, all those who ply their ships to and fro, all sailors, and all who do business on the sea, stood a long way off ¹⁸ and shouted out when they saw the smoke of her fire. “Who is like the great city?” they said. ¹⁹ They threw dust on their heads and shouted out, weeping and mourning. “Alas, alas,” they said, “the great city! Everyone who had ships on the sea could get rich from her wealth, but in a single hour she has become a desert.”

²⁰ Celebrate over her, heaven, and you holy ones, apostles and prophets, because God has passed against her the sentence she passed against you.

²¹ Then a strong angel picked up a rock like a huge millstone and hurled it into the sea, with these words: “Babylon the great city will be thrown down like that with a splash, and will never be seen again! ²² Never again will people hear the sound of harps, musicians, flute players and trumpeters in you. Never again will there be any skilled workmen plying their trade in you. Never again will people hear the sound of the mill in you. ²³ Never again will anyone see the light of a lamp in you. Never again will anyone hear the voice of bridegroom and bride in you. Your merchants were the mighty ones of the earth; all the nations were deceived by your magic.”

²⁴ In her has been found the blood of prophets and God’s holy ones, and all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.

The parable of the great banquet

¹² He then turned to his host. “When you give a lunch or a supper,” he said, “don’t invite your friends or your family or relatives, or your rich neighbors. They might ask you back again, and you’d be repaid. ¹³ When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. ¹⁴ God will bless you, because they have no way to repay you! You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

¹⁵ One of the guests heard this, and commented, “A blessing on those who eat food in God’s kingdom!”

¹⁶ Jesus said, “Once a man made a great dinner, and invited lots of guests. ¹⁷ When the time for the meal arrived, he sent his servant to say to the guests, ‘Come now—everything’s ready!’ ¹⁸ But the whole pack of them began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I’ve just bought a field, and I really have to go and see it. Please accept my apologies.’ ¹⁹ Another one said, ‘I’ve just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’ve got to go and test them out—please accept my apologies.’ ²⁰ And another one said, ‘I’ve just got married, so naturally I can’t come.’ ²¹ So the servant went back and told his master all this. The householder was cross, and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.’ ²² ‘All right, Master,’ said the servant, ‘I’ve done that—but there’s still room.’ ²³ ‘Well then,’ said the master to the servant, ‘go out into the roads and hedgerows and make them come in, so that my house may be full! ²⁴ Let me tell you this: none of those people who were invited will get to taste my dinner.’ ”