18:1 After these things I saw another angel, who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance.¹ 18:2 He² shouted with a powerful voice:

“Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!
She³ has become a lair for demons,
a haunt⁴ for every unclean spirit,
a haunt for every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detested beast.”⁵
18:3 For all the nations⁶ have fallen⁷ from the wine of her immoral passion,⁸
and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.⁹

18:4 Then¹⁰ I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues, 18:5 because her sins have piled¹¹ up all the way to heaven¹² and God has remembered¹³ her crimes.¹⁴ 18:6 Repay her the same way she repaid others;¹⁵ pay her back double¹⁶ corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her. 18:7 As much as¹⁷ she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury,¹⁸ to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself,¹⁹ ‘I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!’ 18:8 For this reason, she will experience her plagues²⁰ in a single day: death, mourning,²¹ and famine, and she will be burned down²² with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!”

18:9 Then²³ the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury²⁴ with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up.²⁵ 18:10 They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say,

“Woe, woe, O great city,
Babylon the powerful city!
For in a single hour your doom²⁶ has come!”

18:11 Then²⁷ the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo²⁸ any longer— 18:12 cargo such as gold, silver,²⁹ precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk,³⁰ scarlet cloth,³¹ all sorts of things made of citron wood,³² all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble; 18:13 cinnamon, spice,³³ incense, perfumed ointment,³⁴ frankincense,³⁵ wine, olive oil and costly flour,³⁶ wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages,³⁷ slaves and human lives.³⁸

18:14 (The ripe fruit³⁹ you greatly desired⁴⁰
has gone from you,
and all your luxury⁴¹ and splendor⁴²
have gone from you—
they will never, ever, be found again!)⁴³

18:15 The merchants who sold⁴⁴ these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep⁴⁵ and mourn, 18:16 saying,

“Woe, woe, O great city—
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing,⁴⁶
and adorned with gold,⁴⁷ precious stones, and pearls—
18:17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!”⁴⁸

And every ship’s captain,⁴⁹ and all who sail along the coast⁵⁰—seamen, and all who⁵¹ make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18:18 and began to shout⁵² when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up,⁵³ “Who is like the great city?” 18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning,⁵⁴

“Woe, Woe, O great city—
in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth—
because in a single hour she has been destroyed!”⁵⁵
18:20 (Rejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and apostles and prophets,
for God has pronounced judgment⁵⁶ against her on your behalf!)⁵⁷

18:21 Then⁵⁸ one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,

“With this kind of sudden violent force⁵⁹
Babylon the great city will be thrown down⁶⁰
and it will never be found again!
18:22 And the sound of the harpists, musicians,
flute players, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you⁶¹ again.
No⁶² craftsmen⁶³ who practices any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the noise of a mill⁶⁴ will never be heard in you again.
18:23 Even the light from a lamp
will never shine in you again!
The voices of the bridegroom and his bride
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the tycoons of the world,
because all the nations⁶⁵ were deceived by your magic spells!⁶⁶
18:24 The⁶⁷ blood of the saints and prophets was found in her,⁶⁸
along with the blood¹ of all those who had been killed on the earth.”