Beginning

He describes the woman sitting upon the beast with ten horns.

17 And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven vials, and he talked with me, saying to me, Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, so that the inhabiters of the earth are drunk with the wine of her fornication.

³ And he carried me away into the wilderness in the Spirit. And I saw a woman sitting upon a rose-coloured beast full of names of blasphemy, which had ten horns. ⁴ And the woman was arrayed in purple and rose colour, and decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls, and had a cup of gold in her hand full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. ⁵ And in her forehead a name was written: a mystery – great babylon, the mother of whoredom and of the abominations of the earth. ⁶ And I saw the wife drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great marvel.

⁷ And the angel said to me, Why do you marvel? I will show you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that bears her, which has seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast that you see was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit, and will go into perdition. And they who dwell on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the beginning of the world) will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

⁹ And here is a mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ They are also seven kings. Five are fallen, and one is, and another is not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a space. ¹¹ And the beast that was and is not, is even the eighth, and is of the seven, and will go into destruction.

¹² And the ten horns that you see are ten kings who have received no kingdom, but shall receive power as kings at one hour with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind, and will give their power and strength to the beast. ¹⁴ These will fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who are on his side are called and chosen and faithful.

¹⁵ And he said to me, The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are people and folk and nations and tongues. ¹⁶ And the ten horns that you saw upon the beast are those who will hate the whore, and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. ¹⁷ For God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to act with one accord, and to give her kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸ And the woman that you saw is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth.

Those who love the world are sorry about the fall of Babylon, but those who are of God have cause to rejoice over her destruction.

18 And after that, I saw another angel come from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his brightness. ² And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Great Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of all foul spirits, and a cage of all unclean and hateful birds. ³ For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and her merchants were made rich from the abundance of her pleasures.

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven say, Come away from her, my people, that you be not partakers in her sins, that you receive not of her plagues. ⁵ For her sins have gone up to heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness. ⁶ Reward her even as she rewarded you, and give her double according to her works. And pour in double for her, in the same cup that she filled for you. ⁷ And as much as she glorified herself and lived wantonly, so much pour in for her of punishment and sorrow. For she said in herself, I sit being a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. ⁸ Therefore her plagues shall come at one day: death, and sorrow, and hunger; and she will be burnt with fire. For strong is the Lord God who judges her.

⁹ And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication with her and have lived wantonly with her will weep and wail over her, when they see the smoke of her burning. ¹⁰ And they will stand afar off for fear of her punishment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For at one hour has her judgment come.

¹¹ And the merchants of the earth will weep and wail in themselves, because no one will buy their wares any more – ¹² wares of gold and silver and precious stones, neither of pearl, and fine linens, and purple and scarlet cloth; and all fragrant wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of vessels of most precious wood, and of bronze and iron; ¹³ and cinnamon and incense, and oyntments, frankincense, wine, and oil, and fine flour and wheat; and work animals, and sheep, and horses, and chariots; and bodies and souls of men.

¹⁴ And the apples that your soul lusted after are departed from you. And all things that were choice and precious to you are departed from you, and you shall find them no more. ¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who had gotten rich, will stand afar off from her, for fear of her punishment, weeping and wailing, ¹⁶ and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, which was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls! ¹⁷ For at one hour such great riches have come to nothing.

And every ship captain, and all they that occupied ships, and sailors who work at sea, stood afar off, ¹⁸ and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like this great city? ¹⁹ And they cast dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and said, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein all who had ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her great wealth. For at one hour she is made desolate.

²⁰ Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God has given your judgment on her.

²¹ And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, With such violence shall that great city Babylon be cast down, and shall be found no more. ²² And the sound of harpers and musicians, and of pipers and trumpeters, shall be heard no more in you. And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in you. And the sound of a mill shall be heard no more in you. ²³ And the light of the candle shall no more shine in you. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more in you. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, and with your enchantment were deceived all nations. ²⁴ And in her was found the blood of the prophets and of the saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Praise or thanks are given to God for judging the whore, and for avenging the blood of his servants. The angel will not be worshipped. The fowls and birds are called to the slaughter.

19 And after that I heard the voice of a great many people in heaven saying, Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honour and power be ascribed to the Lord our God! ² For true and righteous are his judgments, for he has judged the great whore who did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and has avenged the blood of his servants shed by her hand. ³ And again they said, Alleluia! And smoke rose up forevermore. ⁴ And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sat on the seat, saying, Amen! Alleluia! ⁵ And a voice came out of the seat, saying, Praise our Lord God, all you who are his servants, and you who fear him, both small and great!

⁶ And I heard the voice of a great many people, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of strong thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷ Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. ⁸ And to her it was granted that she should be arrayed with pure and splendid linens. For fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

⁹ And he said to me, Happy are those who are called to the Lamb’s supper! And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. ¹⁰ And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, See you do it not. For I am your fellow servant and one of your brethren, and of those who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

¹¹ And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat upon him was faithful and true, and in righteousness did judge and make battle. ¹² His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no one knew but he himself. ¹³ And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. ¹⁴ And the warriors who were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed with white and pure linen. ¹⁵ And out of his mouth went a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the heathen. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. And he trod the wine-vat of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And he has on his vesture and on his thigh a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.

¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings and of high commanders, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all free men and bondmen, and of small and great. ¹⁹ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their warriors gathered together to make battle against him who sat on the horse, and against his soldiers.

²⁰ And the beast was taken, and with him that false prophet who worked miracles before him, by which he deceived them that received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast into a pond of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were slain with the sword of him who sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth. And all the fowls were filled full with their flesh.