Revelation 18

Chapter 18

The Fall of Babylon

1 After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.

2 He gave a mighty shout:
“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foult spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture
and every foul and dreadful animal.t3 For all the nations have fallent
because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
the merchants of the world have grown rich.”

4 Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
“Come away from her, my people.
Do not take part in her sins,
or you will be punished with her.5 For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.6 Do to her as she has done to others.
Double her penaltyt for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brew twice as mucht for her.7 She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’8 Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”9 And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.

10 They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for you,
O Babylon, you great city!
In a single moment
God’s judgment came on you.”11 The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.12 She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble.

13 She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and bodies—that is, human slaves.
14 “The fancy things you loved so much
are gone,” they cry.
“All your luxuries and splendor
are gone forever,
never to be yours again.”

15 The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,
16 “How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!17 In a single moment
all the wealth of the city is gone!”
And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.18 They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?”

19 And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
The shipowners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.”20 Rejoice over her fate, O heaven
and people of God and apostles and prophets!
For at last God has judged her
for your sakes.

21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted,
“Just like this, the great city Babylon
will be thrown down with violence
and will never be found again.22 The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets
will never be heard in you again.
No craftsmen and no trades
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of the mill
will never be heard in you again.23 The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The happy voices of brides and grooms
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.24 In yourt streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”

REVELATION 18

The Fall of Babylon

1 I saw another angel come from heaven. This one had great power, and the earth was bright because of his glory.

2 t The angel shouted,
“Fallen! Powerful Babylon
has fallen
and is now the home
of demons.
It is the den
of every filthy spirit
and of all unclean birds,
and every dirty
and hated animal.

3  t Babylon's evil and immoral wine
has made all nations drunk.
Every king on earth
has slept with her,
and every merchant on earth
is rich because of
her evil desires.”

4  t Then I heard another voice
from heaven shout,
“My people, you must escape
from Babylon.
Don't take part in her sins
and share her punishment.

5  t Her sins are piled
as high as heaven.
God has remembered the evil
she has done.

6  t Treat her as she
has treated others.
Make her pay double
for what she has done.
Make her drink twice as much
of what she mixed
for others.

7  t That woman honored herself
with a life of luxury.
Reward her now
with suffering and pain.
“Deep in her heart
Babylon said,
‘I am the queen!
Never will I be a widow
or know what it means
to be sad.’

8 And so, in a single day
she will suffer the pain
of sorrow, hunger, and death.
Fire will destroy
her dead body,
because her judge
is the powerful Lord God.”
9  t Every king on earth who slept with her and shared in her luxury will mourn. They will weep, when they see the smoke from that fire.

10 Her sufferings will frighten them, and they will stand at a distance and say,
“Pity that great
and powerful city!
Pity Babylon!
In a single hour
her judgment has come.”
11  t Every merchant on earth will mourn, because there is no one to buy their goods. 12 t There won't be anyone to buy their gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, sweet-smelling wood, fancy carvings of ivory and wood, as well as things made of bronze, iron, or marble.

13 No one will buy their cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, frankincense, t wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and other humans.

14 Babylon, the things
your heart desired
have all escaped
from you.
Every luxury
and all your glory
will be lost forever.
You will never
get them back.
15  t The merchants had become rich because of her. But when they saw her sufferings, they were terrified. They stood at a distance, crying and mourning.

16 Then they shouted,
“Pity the great city
of Babylon!
She dressed in fine linen
and wore purple
and scarlet cloth.
She had jewelry
made of gold
and precious stones
and pearls.

17  t Yet in a single hour
her riches disappeared.”
Every ship captain and passenger and sailor stood at a distance, together with everyone who does business by traveling on the sea.

18 t When they saw the smoke from her fire, they shouted, “This was the greatest city ever!”

19  t They cried loudly, and in their sorrow they threw dust on their heads, as they said,
“Pity the great city
of Babylon!
Everyone who sailed the seas
became rich
from her treasures.
But in a single hour
the city was destroyed.

20  t The heavens should be happy
with God's people
and apostles and prophets.
God has punished her
for them.”

21  t A powerful angel then picked up a huge stone and threw it into the sea. The angel said,
“This is how the great city
of Babylon
will be thrown down,
never to rise again.

22  t t The music of harps and singers
and of flutes and trumpets
will no longer be heard.
No workers will ever
set up shop in that city,
and the sound
of grinding grain
will be silenced forever.

23 Lamps will no longer shine
anywhere in Babylon,
and couples will never again
say wedding vows there.
Her merchants ruled
the earth,
and by her witchcraft
she fooled all nations.

24  t On the streets of Babylon
is found the blood
of God's people
and of his prophets,
and everyone else.”