Revelation
18
- After this I saw another angel coming down from
heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.
- With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen
is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every
evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
- For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine
of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the
merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries."
- Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "Come
out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will
not receive any of her plagues;
- for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.
- Give back to her as she has given; pay her back
double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup.
- Give her as much torture and grief as the glory
and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, 'I sit as queen; I am not
a widow, and I will never mourn.'
- Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake
her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the
Lord God who judges her.
- "When the kings of the earth who committed
adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will
weep and mourn over her.
- Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off
and cry: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your
doom has come !'
- "The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn
over her because no one buys their cargoes any more --
- cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and
pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood,
and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;
- cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh
and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and
sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.
- "They will say, 'The fruit you longed for is gone
from you. All your riches and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.'
- The merchants who sold these things and gained
their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will
weep and mourn
- and cry out: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in
fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and
pearls !
- In one hour such great wealth has been brought to
ruin!' "Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who
earn their living from the sea, will stand far off.
- When they see the smoke of her burning, they will
exclaim, 'Was there ever a city like this great city ?'
- They will throw dust on their heads, and with
weeping and mourning cry out: "'Woe! Woe, O great city, where all who had ships
on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to
ruin !
- Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and
apostles and prophets! God has judged her for the way she treated you.'"
- Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size
of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: "With such violence
the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
- The music of harpists and musicians, flute
players and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No workman of any
trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be
heard in you again.
- The light of a lamp will never shine in you
again. The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your
merchants were the world's great men. By your magic spell all the nations were
led astray.
- In her was found the blood of prophets and of the
saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth."
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