Revelation 18 :: New International Version (NIV)

Lament Over Fallen Babylon

Rev 18:1After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.

Rev 18:2

Rev 18:2With a mighty voice he shouted: “ ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’[fn] She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.

Rev 18:3

Rev 18:3For 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.”

Warning to Escape Babylon’s Judgment

Rev 18:4

Rev 18:4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’[fn] so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

Rev 18:5

Rev 18:5for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

Rev 18:6

Rev 18:6Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Pour her a double portion from her own cup.

Rev 18:7

Rev 18:7Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit enthroned as queen. I am not a widow;[fn] I will never mourn.’

Rev 18:8

Rev 18:8Therefore 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.

Threefold Woe Over Babylon’s Fall

Rev 18:9

Rev 18:9“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.

Rev 18:10

Rev 18:10Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’

Rev 18:11

Rev 18:11“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore—

Rev 18:12

Rev 18:12cargoes 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;

Rev 18:13

Rev 18:13cargoes 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 human beings sold as slaves.

Rev 18:14

Rev 18:14“They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.’

Rev 18:15

Rev 18:15The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand far off, terrified at her torment. They will weep and mourn

Rev 18:16

Rev 18:16and cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!

Rev 18:17

Rev 18:17In 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.

Rev 18:18

Rev 18:18When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’

Rev 18:19

Rev 18:19They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “ ‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’

Rev 18:20

Rev 18:20“Rejoice over her, you heavens! Rejoice, you people of God! Rejoice, apostles and prophets! For God has judged her with the judgment she imposed on you.”

The Finality of Babylon’s Doom

Rev 18:21

Rev 18:21Then 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.

Rev 18:22

Rev 18:22The music of harpists and musicians, pipers and trumpeters, will never be heard in you again. No worker of any trade will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.

Rev 18:23

Rev 18:23The 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 important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.

Rev 18:24

Rev 18:24In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NIV Footnotes

See Isaiah 47:7,8.

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Revelation Chapter 18 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras