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18
1 After this I saw another angel, descending from heaven, invested with great authority; and the earth was illuminated by his splendour. 2 With a mighty voice he cried – ‘She has fallen! She has fallen – Babylon the Great! She has become an abode of demons, a stronghold of every wicked spirit, a stronghold of every foul and hateful bird. 3 For, after drinking the maddening wine of her licentiousness, all the nations have fallen; while all the kings of the earth have had licentious intercourse with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich through the excess of her luxury.’ 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying – ‘Come out of her, my people, so that you may not participate in her sins, and that you may not suffer from the curses inflicted on her. 5 For her sins are heaped up to the heavens, and God has not forgotten her misdeeds. 6 Pay her back the treatment with which she has treated you; yes, repay twice over what her actions deserve; in the cup which she mixed for you, mix for her as much again; 7 for her self-glorification and her luxury, give her now an equal measure of torture and misery. In her heart she says “I sit here a queen; no widow am I; I will never know misery.” 8 Therefore in one day will these curses strike her – death, misery, and famine, and she will be utterly consumed by fire; for mighty is the Lord God who condemned her.’ 9 All the kings of the earth who had licentious intercourse with her and shared her luxury will weep and lament over her, when they see the smoke from the burning city, 10 while they stand at a distance, horrified at her torture, and cry – ‘Alas! Alas! Great city! Mighty city of Babylon! In a single hour your judgment fell.’ 11 And the merchants of the earth weep and wail over her, because no longer does anyone buy their cargoes – 12 their cargoes of gold, or silver, or precious stones, or pearls, or fine linen, or purple robes, or silk, or scarlet cloth; nor their many scented woods; nor their many articles of ivory; nor their many articles of choicest wood, or brass, or iron, or marble; 13 nor their cinnamon, or spice, or incense, or perfumes, or frankincense, or wine, or oil, or fine flour, or wheat, or cattle, or sheep; nor their horses, or chariots, or slaves; nor the bodies and souls of people. 14 The fruit that your soul craved is no longer within your reach, and all dainties and luxuries are lost to you, never to be found again. 15 The merchants who sold these things, and grew rich by her, will stand at a distance weeping and wailing, horrified at her torture, and crying – 16 ‘Alas! Alas! Great city! City clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet cloth! City adorned with gold ornaments, and precious stones, and pearls! 17 In a single hour your vast wealth vanished.’ Every ship’s captain and all who sail to any port, and sailors, and all who get their living from the sea, stood at a distance, 18 and seeing the smoke from the burning city, cried – ‘What city can compare with the Great city?’ 19 They threw dust on their heads, and, as they wept and wailed, they cried – ‘Alas! Alas! Great city! All who have ships on the sea grew rich through her magnificence. In a single hour it has vanished.’ 20 Rejoice over her, heaven, and people of Christ, and apostles, and prophets, for God has avenged you on her! 21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea, crying – ‘So will Babylon, the great city, be violently overthrown, never more to be seen. 22 No more will the music of harpers, or minstrels, or flute players, or trumpeters be heard in you, no more will any worker, skilled in any art, be found in you; no more will the sound of a mill be heard in you; 23 no more will the light of a lamp shine in you; no more will the voices of groom and bride be heard in you. Your merchants were the great men of the earth, for all the nations were deceived by your magical charms.’ 24 Yes, and in her was to be found the blood of the prophets and of Christ’s people, and of all who have been put to death on the earth.

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