Revelation 18

The Fall of Babylon the Great

18After this I saw another angel with great authority coming down from heaven, ^land the earth was illuminated by his splendor. ²He cried in a mighty voice:

It has fallen, ^m

Babylon the Great has fallen! ⁿ

She has become a dwelling for demons,

a haunt for every unclean spirit,

a haunt for every unclean bird,

and a haunt ^ofor every unclean and despicable beast. ^pq

³For all the nations have drunk ^r

the wine of her sexual immorality,

which brings wrath. ^s

The kings of the earth

have committed sexual immorality with her,

and the merchants of the earth

have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury. ^t

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven:

Come out of her, My people,

so that you will not share in her sins ^u

or receive any of her plagues.

⁵For her sins are piled up ^vto heaven, ^w

and God has remembered her crimes. ^x

⁶Pay her back the way she also paid, ^y

and double it according to her works. ^z

In the cup in which she mixed, ^a

mix a double portion for her.

⁷As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,

give her that much torment and grief,

for she says in her heart,

“I sit as a queen;

I am not a widow,

and I will never see grief.” ^b

⁸For this reason her plagues will come in one day ^c—

death and grief and famine. ^d

She will be burned up with fire, ^e

because the Lord God who judges ^fher is mighty. ^g

The World Mourns Babylon’s Fall

⁹The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. ¹⁰They will stand far off in fear of her torment, ^hsaying:

Woe, woe, the great city, ⁱ

Babylon, the mighty city!

For in a single hour ^j

your judgment has come.

¹¹The merchants of the earth will also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any longer— ¹²merchandise of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine fabrics of linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; all kinds of fragrant wood products; objects of ivory; objects of expensive wood, brass, ^kiron, and marble; ¹³cinnamon, spice, ^lmincense, myrrh, ⁿand frankincense; wine, olive oil, fine wheat flour, and grain; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and slaves ^oand human lives. ^pq

¹⁴The fruit you craved has left you.

All your splendid and glamorous things are gone;

they will never find them again.

¹⁵The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,

dressed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet,

adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls, ^r

¹⁷for in a single hour ^s

such fabulous wealth was destroyed!

And every shipmaster, seafarer, the sailors, and all who do business by sea, stood far off ¹⁸as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?” ^t19They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning: ^u

Woe, woe, the great city, ^v

where all those who have ships on the sea

became rich from her wealth,

for in a single hour ^wshe was destroyed.

²⁰Rejoice over her, heaven,

and you saints, apostles, and prophets, ^x

because God has executed your judgment ^yon her! ^z

The Finality of Babylon’s Fall

²¹Then a mighty angel ^apicked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:

In this way, Babylon the great city

will be thrown down violently ^b

and never be found again. ^c

²²The sound of harpists, musicians,

flutists, and trumpeters

will never be heard in you again; ^d

no craftsman of any trade

will ever be found in you again;

the sound of a mill

will never be heard in you again;

²³the light of a lamp

will never shine in you again;

and the voice of a groom and bride

will never be heard in you again. ^e

All this will happen

because your merchants

were the nobility of the earth,

because all the nations were deceived

by your sorcery, ^f

²⁴and the blood of prophets and saints, ^g

and of all those slaughtered on earth,

was found in you. ^hi