Historical

The Woman and the Dragon

12 And then a great ·wonder [sign; portent; ^Csymbolic descriptions of heavenly/spiritual realities] appeared in heaven: A woman was clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet [^Cindicating authority or victory; Gen. 37:9], and a crown [^Ca reward of victory] of twelve stars was on her head [^Crepresenting the twelve tribes of Israel; the woman is a symbol of the persecuted people of God]. ² She was ·pregnant [^Lin the womb] and cried out with [^Llabor] pain, because she was about to give birth [^Cto the Messiah]. ³ Then another ·wonder [sign; portent; 12:1] appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon with seven heads [^Creminiscent of the many-headed Leviathan representing evil and chaos, here representing Satan; Ps. 74:14; Is. 27:1; Dan. 7:1–9] and seven ·crowns [diadems; royal crowns] on each head. He [or It; ^Cthe Greek masculine pronoun can refer to a person or thing] also had ten horns [^Csymbols of strength and power; Dan. 7:7–8, 20, 24]. ⁴ His tail swept a third of the stars out of ·the sky [or heaven] and ·threw [cast; hurled; Dan. 8:10] them down to the earth [^Crepresenting an early victory against God’s people; 12:1]. He stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth so he could ·eat [devour] her ·baby [child; ^CJesus the Messiah] as soon as it was born. ⁵ Then the woman gave birth to ·a son [^La son, a male child,] who will ·rule [or shepherd] all the nations with an iron ·rod [sceptre; 19:15; Ps. 2:9]. And her child was ·taken up [or snatched away; ^Cprobably a symbolic reference to the resurrection, where Satan’s victory was thwarted] to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman ·ran away [fled] into the ·desert [wilderness] to a place God prepared for her where she would ·be taken care of [nourished; fed] for one thousand two hundred sixty days [^Cequal to three and one-half years; see 11:3].

⁷ Then there was a war in heaven. Michael [^Can archangel and protector of God’s people; Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9] and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But the dragon was not strong enough, and he and his angels lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The ·giant [great] dragon was ·thrown down [cast; hurled] out of heaven. (He is that ·old snake [ancient serpent] called the devil or Satan [Gen. 3:1, 15], who ·tricks [deceives; leads astray] the whole world.) The dragon with his angels was ·thrown down [cast; hurled] to the earth.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying:

[^LFor] The accuser [^Cthe name Satan means “Accuser” in Hebrew; Job 1:6–12; 2:1–6; Zech. 3:1–2] of our brothers and sisters,

¹³ When the dragon saw he had been ·thrown [cast; hurled] down to the earth, he ·hunted for [pursued; or persecuted] the woman who had given birth to the ·son [boy; ^Lmale]. ¹⁴ But the woman was given the two wings of a great ·eagle [or vulture; Ex. 19:4; Deut. 32:10–11; Is. 40:31] so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the ·desert [wilderness]. There she would be ·taken care of [nourished; fed] for ·three and one-half years [^La time, times, and half a time; 11:2, 3; 13:5; Dan. 7:25; 12:7], away from the ·snake [serpent; ^CGod will spiritually nourish his people though they are persecuted]. ¹⁵ Then the ·snake [serpent] ·poured [spewed; ^Lthrew] water out of its mouth like a river ·toward [after] the woman so the flood would ·carry [sweep] her away [^Coverwhelming water signifies overwhelming trouble; Ps. 18:4; 69:2]. ¹⁶ But the earth ·helped [rescued] the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that ·came [spewed; ^Lwas thrown] from the mouth of the dragon. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was ·very angry [furious; full of wrath] at the woman, and he went off to make war against ·all her other children [^Lthe rest of her seed/offspring]—those who obey God’s commands and who ·have the message Jesus taught [or hold fast to their testimony about Jesus].

¹⁸ And the dragon^[a] stood on the ·seashore [^Lsand of the sea; ^Csome commentators and translations take this verse as the introduction to the episode in chapter 13].

The Two Beasts

13 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea [^Cthe sea was a symbol of chaos in the ancient world; Dan. 7:1–8]. It [or He] had ten horns [^Csymbols of power and strength] and seven heads [12:3], and there was a ·crown [diadem; royal crown; ^Cindicating a king of evil] on each horn. A ·name against God [^Lblasphemous name; some manuscripts read the plural “names”] was written on each head. ² This beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear’s feet and a mouth like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave the beast all of his ·power [authority] and his throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast looked as if it ·had been killed by a wound [had a fatal/mortal wound; ^Lwas slain to death; ^Can evil imitation of the Lamb that was slain; 5:6], but this ·death wound [fatal/mortal wound; ^Lwound of its death] was healed [^Ca false imitation of the resurrection]. Then the whole world was amazed and followed the beast. ⁴ People worshiped the dragon because he had given his ·power [authority] to the beast. And they also worshiped the beast, asking, “Who is like the beast [Ex. 15:11]? Who can make war against ·it [or him]?”

⁵ The beast was ·allowed [^Lgiven a mouth] to say ·proud words [^Lgreat things; Dan. 7:8, 11, 20] and ·words against God [^Lblasphemies; Dan. 11:36], and it was allowed to ·use [exercise] its ·power [authority] for forty-two months [11:2]. ⁶ It ·used [opened] its mouth ·to speak [blaspheme] against God, against God’s name, against ·the place where God lives [his dwelling/tabernacle], and against all those who ·live [dwell] in heaven. ⁷ It was given ·power [authority] to make war against ·God’s holy people [^Tthe saints] and to ·defeat [conquer] them. It was given ·power [authority] over every tribe, people, language, and nation [Dan. 7:21]. ⁸ And all who live on earth will worship ·the beast [^Lit; or him]—all the people since the ·beginning [foundation] of the world whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book [scroll] of life [3:5; 17:8; Ex. 32:32–33]. ·The Lamb is the One who was killed [or The Lamb who was killed/slaughtered before the creation/foundation of the earth]. [^CSome commentators link the phrase “since the beginning/foundation of the world” with “all who live on the earth”; others link it with “written in the Lamb’s book of life”; and still others with “the Lamb who was slain.”]

⁹ Anyone who has ears should ·listen [hear; obey]:

This means that ·God’s holy people [^Tthe saints] must have ·patience [perseverance; endurance] and faith.

¹¹ Then I saw another beast ·coming up [rising] out of the earth [Dan. 7:17]. It [or He] had two horns like a ·lamb [or ram; Dan. 8:3], but it spoke like a dragon [^Cacting like a prophetic spokesperson for the dragon (see 16:13); along with the dragon and the first beast, this second beast forms an evil trinity]. ¹² This beast ·stands before the first beast and uses the same power the first beast has [or uses all the authority of the first beast on its behalf]. By this ·power [authority] it makes ·everyone living on earth [^Lthe earth and its inhabitants] worship the first beast, who had the ·death wound [fatal/mortal wound; ^Lwound of its death] that was healed. ¹³ And the second beast ·does great miracles [performs great signs] so that it even makes fire come down from heaven to earth [1 Kin. 18:38; 2 Kin. 1:10, 12] ·while people are watching [^Lbefore people]. ¹⁴ It ·fools [deceives; tricks] those who live on earth by the ·miracles [signs; ^Cthese are counterfeit miracles] it has been given the power to do. It does these ·miracles [signs] ·to serve the first beast [^Lbefore/in the presence of the first beast]. The second beast orders [tells] people to make an ·idol [image] to honor the first beast, the one that ·was wounded by the deadly [^Lhas the wound of the] sword but ·sprang to life again [lives]. ¹⁵ The second beast was ·given power [or allowed] to give ·life [breath; a spirit] to the idol of the first one so that the idol could speak. And the second beast was ·given power [allowed] to ·command [cause; make] all who will not worship the ·image [idol] of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ The second beast also ·forced [caused; made] all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a ·mark [brand; stamp; ^Cto show allegiance to the first beast] on their right hand or on their forehead [compare 7:2–4; 14:1]. ¹⁷ [^LSo that] No one could buy or sell without this mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name [^CGreek and Hebrew letters had a numerical equivalent, and so could represent names—a practice known as gematria]. ¹⁸ This ·takes [calls for; ^Lis] wisdom [Dan. 12:10]. Let the one who has understanding ·find the meaning of [calculate; figure out] the number [^Lof the beast], which is the number of a ·person [or man]. Its number is 666^[b] [^Ca symbolic number signifying imperfection and sin; some speculate it represents the name of a Roman emperor, perhaps Nero or Domitian].

The Song of the Saved

14 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion [^Ca mountain near Jerusalem where the temple was located, representing the presence of God]. With him were one hundred forty-four thousand people [7:4] who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads [13:16]. ² And I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of ·flooding water [rushing water; ^Lmany waters; 1:15] and like the ·sound [peal] of loud thunder [19:6]. The sound I heard was like ·people [^Lharpists] playing harps. ³ And they sang a new song [^Ca song celebrating divine deliverance; 5:9; Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1] before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders [4:4]. No one could learn the new song except the one hundred forty-four thousand [7:4] who had been ·bought [redeemed] from the earth. ⁴ These are the ones who did not ·do sinful things [defile themselves] with women, because they ·kept themselves pure [^Lare virgins]. They follow the Lamb every place he goes. ·These one hundred forty-four thousand [^LThey] were ·bought [redeemed] from ·among the people of the earth [^Lhumanity; mankind] as ·people to be offered [^Lfirstfruits; ^Cthe earliest part of the harvest was offered to God] to God and the Lamb. ⁵ ·They were not guilty of telling lies [^LNo lie was found in their mouth]; they are ·without fault [blameless].

The Three Angels

⁶ Then I saw another angel flying ·high in the air [^Lin mid-heaven; 8:13]. He had the eternal ·Good News [Gospel] to preach to those who ·live [dwell] on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ⁷ He ·preached [^Lspoke] in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him ·praise [glory], because the ·time has come for God to judge all people [^Lhour of his judgment has come]. So worship God who made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the springs of water.”

⁸ Then the second angel followed the first angel and said, “·Ruined, ruined [^LFallen, fallen] is ·the great city of Babylon [^LBabylon the Great; ^Cthe capital of the empire that destroyed Jerusalem in 586 bc, a symbol for the evil world system opposing God; 2 Kin. 24—25; Is. 21:9; Dan. 4:30]! She made all the nations drink the wine of the ·anger [or passion; ^Cthe Greek word thymos can mean either anger or passion; see v. 10 for a possible play on words] of her ·adultery [or sexual immorality].”

⁹ Then a third angel followed the first two angels, saying in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his ·idol [image] and ·gets [receives; takes] the beast’s ·mark [brand; stamp] on the forehead or on the hand, ¹⁰ that one also will drink the wine of God’s anger [^Cperhaps a play on words with v. 8; Babylon’s “passion” will bring on God’s “wrath”], which is prepared ·with all its strength [undiluted; ^Lunmixed; ^Cwine was often mixed with water] in the cup of his anger [^CGod’s judgment is often portrayed in the OT as a “cup” of wine poured out; Jer. 25:15–29]. And that person will be ·put in pain [tortured; tormented] with ·burning sulfur [^Lfire and sulfur] before the holy angels and the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke from their ·burning pain [torture; torment] will rise forever and ever. There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his ·idol [image] or who get the ·mark [brand; stamp] of his name.” ¹² This means ·God’s holy people [^Tthe saints] must ·be patient [persevere; endure]. They must ·obey [keep] God’s commands and ·keep their faith in [remain faithful to] Jesus.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: ·Blessed [or Happy] are the dead who die from now on in the Lord.”

The Spirit says, “Yes, they will rest from their hard work, ·and the reward of all they have done stays with them [^Lfor their deeds will follow them].”

The Earth Is Harvested

¹⁴ Then I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and sitting on the white cloud was One who looked like a ·Son of Man [or human being; ^Ca designation Jesus applied to himself; Dan. 7:13–14]. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle [^Ca curved blade used to harvest grain] in his hand. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple and called out in a loud voice to the One who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and ·harvest [reap] from the earth, because the time to ·harvest [reap] has come, ·and [^Lbecause] the ·fruit [^Lharvest] of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So the One who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was ·harvested [reaped].

¹⁷ Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ And then another angel, who has ·power [authority; charge] over the fire, came from the altar. This angel called to the angel with the sharp sickle, saying, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the bunches [clusters] of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹ Then the angel swung his sickle over the earth. He gathered the earth’s grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s ·anger [wrath; Is. 63:2–3, 6; Lam. 1:15]. ²⁰ They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the winepress as high as horses’ bridles for a distance of about ·one hundred eighty miles [^Lone thousand six hundred stadia].

The Last Troubles

15 Then I saw another ·wonder [sign; miracle; portent] in heaven that was great and amazing. There were seven angels bringing seven ·disasters [plagues]. These are the last ·disasters [plagues], because ·after [or in] them, God’s ·anger [wrath] is ·finished [completed; ended].

² I saw what looked like a sea of glass [1 Kin. 7:23–26; Ezek. 1:22] mixed with fire [19:20; 20:10]. All of those who had ·won the victory over [conquered] the beast and his ·idol [image] and over the number of his name [13:17] were standing by the sea of glass. They had harps ·that God had given them [^Lof/from God]. ³ They sang the song of Moses [Ex. 15:1; Deut. 31:30], the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

⁵ After ·this [^Lthese things] I saw that the temple (the ·Tent [Tabernacle] of the ·Agreement [Testimony; Covenant Law]) in heaven was opened. ⁶ And the seven angels bringing the seven ·disasters [plagues] came out of the temple. They were dressed in ·clean [pure], ·shining [bright] linen and wore golden ·bands [sashes] tied around their chests [^Cgarments worn by priests]. ⁷ Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the ·anger [wrath] of God, who lives forever and ever. ⁸ The temple was filled with smoke [^Csmoke often symbolizes the presence of God; Ex. 40:34–38] from the glory and the power of God, and no one could enter the temple until the seven ·disasters [plagues] of the seven angels were ·finished [completed; ended; ^Caccomplished their purpose].

The Bowls of God’s Anger

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s ·anger [wrath] on the earth.”

² The first angel left and poured out his bowl on the land. Then ·ugly [foul] and painful sores [^Creminiscent of the sixth Egyptian plague; Ex. 9:9–11; Job 2] came upon all those who had the ·mark [brand] of the beast and who worshiped his ·idol [image].

³ The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood like that of a ·dead man [corpse; ^Creminiscent of the first Egyptian plague; Ex. 7:14–21; see also 8:8–9], and every living thing in the sea died.

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood [^Calso similar to the first Egyptian plague]. ⁵ Then I heard the angel of the waters saying:

  ⁷ And I heard ·a voice coming from the altar [^Lthe altar] saying:

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and ·he [or it; ^Ceither the sun or the angel] was given ·power [authority] to ·burn [scorch] the people with fire. ⁹ They were ·burned [scorched] by the great heat, and they ·cursed [blasphemed] the name of God, who had ·control [authority; power] over these ·disasters [plagues]. But the people ·refused to change their hearts and lives [^Ldid not repent] and give ·glory [honor] to God.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and darkness covered its kingdom [8:12; ^Creminiscent of the ninth Egyptian plague; Ex. 10:21–29]. People ·gnawed [bit] their tongues because of the ·pain [agony]. ¹¹ They also cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and the sores they had, but they refused to ·change their hearts and turn away [repent] from ·the evil things they did [^Ltheir deeds].

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates so that the water in the river was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east to come [^Creminiscent of the splitting of the Red Sea and the Jordan; Ex. 14:21–22; Josh. 3:13–17]. ¹³ Then I saw three ·evil [^Lunclean] spirits that looked like frogs [^Creminiscent of the second Egyptian plague; Ex. 8:1–15] coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴ [^LFor] These evil spirits are the spirits of demons, ·which have power to do miracles [^Lthat perform signs]. They go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the battle on the great day of God ·Almighty [All-powerful].

¹⁵ “Listen [^LLook; ^TBehold]! I will come as a thief comes [^Cthat is, without warning]! ·Blessed [Happy] are those who stay ·awake [alert] and keep their clothes on [^Ca metaphor for staying faithful and pure] so that they will not walk around naked and have people see their shame.”

¹⁶ Then ·the evil spirits [^Lthey] gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon in the Hebrew language [^Cmeaning “Mountain of Megiddo,” a strategic pass in northern Israel].

¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It ·is finished [is done; has come to pass]!” ¹⁸ Then there were flashes of lightning, ·noises, thunder [rumbling thunder], and a ·big [great] earthquake [4:5; 11:19]—the ·worst [greatest; most violent] earthquake that has ever happened since people have been on earth. ¹⁹ The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations ·were destroyed [fell; collapsed]. And God remembered ·the sins of Babylon [^LBabylon] the Great, so he gave that city the cup filled with the wine of ·his terrible anger [^Lthe anger/fury of his wrath; 14:8]. ²⁰ Then every island ·ran away [fled], and mountains ·disappeared [^Lwere not to be found]. ²¹ Giant hailstones, each weighing about ·a hundred pounds [^La talent], fell from the sky upon people [^Creminiscent of the seventh Egyptian plague; 11:19; Ex. 9:13–35]. People ·cursed [blasphemed] God for the ·disaster [plague] of the hail, because this ·disaster [plague] was so terrible.

The Woman on the Animal

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. He said, “Come, and I will show you the ·punishment [judgment] that will be given to the great ·prostitute [whore], the one sitting [or ruling] over many waters [^Creferring to the Euphrates River and its many waterways (Jer. 51:13), or symbolically to the cosmic forces of evil]. ² The kings of the earth ·sinned sexually [prostituted themselves; committed fornication] with her, and the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her ·sexual sin [prostitution; fornication; 14:8].”

³ Then the angel carried me away ·by the Spirit [or in the spirit] to the ·desert [wilderness]. There I saw a woman sitting on a ·red [scarlet] beast. It was covered with ·names against God written on it [blasphemous names], and it had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was dressed in purple and ·red [scarlet] and was ·shining [glittering; adorned] with the gold, precious jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand, a cup filled with ·evil [abominable; detestable] things and the uncleanness of her ·sexual sin [prostitution; fornication]. ⁵ On her forehead a ·title [name] was written that was ·secret [a mystery]. This is what was written:

⁶ Then I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of ·God’s holy people [^Tthe saints] and with the blood of ·those who were killed because of their faith in [witnesses to; or martyrs for] Jesus.

When I saw the woman, I was ·very amazed [greatly astonished; ^Lamazed with great amazement]. ⁷ Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed [astonished]? I will tell you the ·secret [mystery] of this woman and the beast ·she rides [that carries her]—the one with seven heads and ten horns. ⁸ The beast you saw ·was once alive but is not alive now [^Lwas, and is not; 13:3, 12, 14]. But soon it will come up out of the ·bottomless pit [Abyss; 9:1] and go away to ·be destroyed [its destruction]. There are people who live on earth whose names have not been written in the ·book [scroll] of life [3:5] since the ·beginning [foundation; creation] of the world. They will be amazed when they see the beast, because he was ·once alive, is not alive now, but will come again [^Lwas, is not, but is to come; ^Cimitating the divine title of the Lamb (1:18; 2:8) and God (1:4, 8; 4:8)].

⁹ “You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are seven ·mountains [or hills; ^CRome was built on seven hills] where the woman sits. ¹⁰ ·And they are seven kings. Five of the kings have ·already been destroyed [^Lfallen], one of the kings ·lives now [^Lis], and another has not yet come. When he comes, he must stay a short time. ¹¹ The beast that ·was once alive [^Lwas], but ·is not alive now [^Lis not], is also an eighth king. He belongs to the first seven kings, and he ·will go away to be destroyed [is heading to destruction].

¹² “The ten horns [Dan. 7:7–8, 20–25] you saw are ten kings who have not yet ·begun to rule [received a kingdom], but they will receive ·power [authority] to rule with the beast for one hour [^Ca short time]. ¹³ All ten of these kings have ·the same [^Lone] ·purpose [intention], and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will make war against the Lamb [^CJesus], but the Lamb will ·defeat [conquer; be victorious over] them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. ·He will defeat them with his called, chosen, and faithful followers [or Those with him are called, chosen and faithful].”

¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the ·prostitute [whore] sits, are peoples, ·races [multitudes; crowds], nations, and languages. ¹⁶ The ten horns and the beast you saw will hate the ·prostitute [whore]. They will ·take everything she has [make her desolate] and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire [Ezek. 23:25–29]. ¹⁷ [^LFor] God ·made the ten horns want [^Lput it into their hearts] to carry out his ·purpose [intention] by agreeing to give the beast their ·power to rule [kingdom], until ·what God has said comes about [^Lthe word of God has been fulfilled/completed]. ¹⁸ The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” [^CWhether symbolized by Rome, Babylon, Sodom or apostate Jerusalem, this city is ultimately the human world system ruled by Satan standing in opposition to the city of God, the new Jerusalem.]

Babylon Is Destroyed

18 After ·the vision of these things [^Lthese things], I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great ·power [authority], and his ·glory [splendor] ·made the earth bright [illumined the earth]. ² He ·shouted [cried out] in a ·powerful [mighty; strong] voice:

⁴ Then I heard another voice from heaven saying:

⁹ The kings of the earth who ·sinned sexually [fornicated] with her and ·shared her wealth [lived in luxury/sensuality with her] will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will ·cry [weep] and ·be sad [mourn] because of her death. ¹⁰ They will be afraid of her ·suffering [torment; torture] and stand far away and say:

¹¹ And the merchants of the earth will ·cry [weep] and be sad about her, because now there is no one to buy their cargoes— ¹² cargoes of gold, silver, ·jewels [precious stones], pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, ·red [scarlet] cloth; all kinds of citron wood and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³ [and cargoes of] cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages [wagons], ·slaves, and human lives [^Lbodies and human souls].

¹⁴ The merchants will say [^Cimplied by the context],

¹⁵ The merchants [^Lof these things] who became rich ·from selling to her [^Lfrom her] will be afraid of her ·suffering [torment; torture] and will stand far away. They will ·cry [weep] and ·be sad [mourn] ¹⁶ and say:

Every sea captain, every passenger, the sailors, and all those who ·earn their living from [trade; work on] the sea stood far away from Babylon. ¹⁸ As they saw the smoke from her burning, they cried out loudly, “·There was never a city [What city was…?] like this great city!” ¹⁹ And they threw dust on their heads [^Ca ritual of mourning] and cried out, weeping and ·being sad [mourning]. They said:

²¹ Then a ·powerful [strong; mighty] angel picked up a large stone, like ·one used for grinding grain [a millstone], and threw it into the sea [Jer. 51:63–64]. He said: