Revelation 18 — AAB
Babylon Is Fallen
18Verse 1After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.Verse 2And he cried out in a mighty voice:“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!+She has become a lair for demonsand a haunt for every unclean spirit,every unclean bird,
and every detestable beast.+Verse 3All the nations have drunk+the wineof the passion of her immorality.The kings of the earth were immoral with her,and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy
from the extravagance of her luxury.”Verse 4Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Come out of her, My people,+so that you will not share in her sins
or contract any of her plagues.Verse 5For her sins are piled up to heaven,and God has remembered her iniquities.Verse 6Give back to her as she has done to others;pay her back double for what she has done;
mix her a double portion in her own cup.Verse 7As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury,give her the same measure of torment and grief.In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen;I am not a widow and will never see grief.’Verse 8Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire,for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
Lament over Babylon
Verse 9Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.+Verse 10In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out:“Woe, woe to the great city,the mighty city of Babylon!For in a single houryour judgment has come.”Verse 11And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—Verse 12cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;Verse 13of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves.Verse 14And they will say:+
“The fruit of your soul’s desirehas departed from you;all your luxury and splendor have vanished,never to be seen again.”Verse 15The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn,Verse 16saying:
“Woe, woe to the great city,clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!Verse 17For in a single hoursuch fabulous wealth has been destroyed!”
Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distanceVerse 18and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.Verse 19Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out:
“Woe, woe to the great city,where all who had ships on the sea
were enriched by her wealth!For in a single hourshe has been destroyed.”Verse 20Rejoice over her, O heaven,and you holy ones and apostles and prophets,because God has pronounced for youHis judgment against her.
The Doom of Babylon
Verse 21Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying:“With such violencethe great city of Babylon will be cast down,
never to be seen again.Verse 22And the sound of harpists and musicians,of flute players and trumpeters,
will never ring out in you again.Nor will any craftsmen of any tradebe found in you again,nor the sound of a millstonebe heard in you again.Verse 23The light of a lampwill never shine in you again,and the voices of a bride and bridegroomwill never call out in you again.For your merchants were the great ones of the earth,because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”Verse 24And there was found in her the blood of prophets and holy ones, and of all who had been slain on the earth.