| 1 | Then I saw another angel descending from heaven, possessing great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his radiance
and
splendor. |
| 2 | And he shouted with a mighty voice, She is fallen! Mighty Babylon is fallen! She has become a resort
and
dwelling place for demons, a dungeon haunted by every loathsome spirit, an abode for every filthy and detestable bird. |
| 3 | For all nations have drunk the wine of her passionate unchastity, and the rulers
and
leaders of the earth have joined with her in committing fornication (idolatry), and the businessmen of the earth have become rich with the wealth of her excessive luxury
and
wantonness. |
| 4 | I then heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out from her, my people, so that you may not share in her sins, neither participate in her plagues. |
| 5 | For her iniquities (her crimes and transgressions) are piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her wickedness
and
[her] crimes [and calls them up for settlement]. |
| 6 | Repay to her what she herself has paid [to others] and double [her doom] in accordance with what she has done. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed [for others]. |
| 7 | To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled in her wantonness [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that measure impose on her torment
and
anguish and tears
and
mourning. Since in her heart she boasts, I am not a widow; as a queen [on a throne] I sit, and I shall never see suffering
or
experience sorrow— |
| 8 | So shall her plagues (afflictions, calamities) come thick upon her in a single day, pestilence and anguish
and
sorrow and famine; and she shall be utterly consumed (burned up with fire), for mighty is the Lord God Who judges her. |
| 9 | And the rulers
and
leaders of the earth who joined her in her immorality (idolatry) and luxuriated with her will weep
and
beat their breasts and lament over her when they see the smoke of her conflagration. |
| 10 | They will stand a long way off, in terror of her torment, and they will cry, Woe
and
alas, the great city, the mighty city, Babylon! In one single hour how your doom (judgment) has overtaken you! |
| 11 | And earth’s businessmen will weep and grieve over her because no one buys their freight (cargo) any more. |
| 12 | Their merchandise is of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet [stuffs]; all kinds of scented wood, all sorts of articles of ivory, all varieties of objects of costly woods, bronze, iron, and marble; |
| 13 | Of cinnamon, spices, incense, ointment
and
perfume, and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, horses and conveyances; and of slaves (the bodies) and souls of men! |
| 14 | The ripe fruits
and
delicacies for which your soul longed have gone from you, and all your luxuries
and
dainties, your elegance
and
splendor are lost to you, never again to be recovered
or
experienced! |
| 15 | The dealers who handled these articles, who grew wealthy through their business with her, will stand a long way off, in terror of her doom
and
torment, weeping and grieving aloud, and saying, |
| 16 | Alas, alas for the great city that was robed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, bedecked
and
glittering with gold, with precious stones, and with pearls! |
| 17 | Because in one [single] hour all the vast wealth has been destroyed (wiped out). And all ship captains
and
pilots, navigators and all who live by seafaring, the crews and all who ply their trade on the sea, stood a long way off, |
| 18 | And exclaimed as they watched the smoke of her burning, What city could be compared to the great city! |
| 19 | And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and grieved, exclaiming, Woe
and
alas, for the great city, where all who had ships on the sea grew rich [through her extravagance] from her great wealth! In one single hour she has been destroyed
and
has become a desert! |
| 20 | Rejoice (celebrate) over her, O heaven! O saints (people of God) and apostles and prophets, because God has executed vengeance for you upon her! |
| 21 | Then a single powerful angel took up a boulder like a great millstone and flung it into the sea, crying, With such violence shall Babylon the great city be hurled down to destruction and shall never again be found. |
| 22 | And the sound of harpists and minstrels and flute players and trumpeters shall never again be heard in you, and no skilled artisan of any craft shall ever again be found in you, and the sound of the millstone shall never again be heard in you. |
| 23 | And never again shall the light of a lamp shine in you, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall never be heard in you again; for your businessmen were the great
and
prominent men of the earth, and by your magic spells
and
poisonous charm all nations were led astray (seduced and deluded). |
| 24 | And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all those who have been slain (slaughtered) on earth. |
Cross references:
-
Revelation 18:3 : Jer. 25:15, 27.
-
Revelation 18:4 : Isa. 48:20; Jer. 50:8.
-
Revelation 18:5 : Jer. 51:9.
-
Revelation 18:6 : Ps. 137:8.
-
Revelation 18:7 : Isa. 47:8, 9.
-
Revelation 18:9 : Ezek. 26:16, 17.
-
Revelation 18:11 : Ezek. 27:36.
-
Revelation 18:12 : Ezek. 27:12, 13, 22.
-
Revelation 18:16 : Ezek. 27:31, 36.
-
Revelation 18:17 : Isa. 23:14; Ezek. 27:26-30.
-
Revelation 18:19 : Ezek. 27:30-34.
-
Revelation 18:20 : Isa. 44:23; Jer. 51:48.
-
Revelation 18:21 : Jer. 51:63, 64; Ezek. 26:21.
-
Revelation 18:22 : Isa. 24:8; Ezek. 26:13.
-
Revelation 18:24 : Jer. 51:49.
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