Revelation 18 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

The Fall of Babylon

Rev 18:1After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.

Rev 18:2

Rev 18:2He gave a mighty shout:
“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!
She has become a home for demons.
She is a hideout for every foul[fn] spirit,
a hideout for every foul vulture
and every foul and dreadful animal.[fn]

Rev 18:3

Rev 18:3For all the nations have fallen[fn]
because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
The kings of the world
have committed adultery with her.
Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
the merchants of the world have grown rich.”

Rev 18:4

Rev 18:4Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
“Come away from her, my people.
Do not take part in her sins,
or you will be punished with her.

Rev 18:5

Rev 18:5For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
and God remembers her evil deeds.

Rev 18:6

Rev 18:6Do to her as she has done to others.
Double her penalty[fn] for all her evil deeds.
She brewed a cup of terror for others,
so brew twice as much[fn] for her.

Rev 18:7

Rev 18:7She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so match it now with torment and sorrow.
She boasted in her heart,
‘I am queen on my throne.
I am no helpless widow,
and I have no reason to mourn.’

Rev 18:8

Rev 18:8Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day—
death and mourning and famine.
She will be completely consumed by fire,
for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”

Rev 18:9

Rev 18:9And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.

Rev 18:10

Rev 18:10They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for you,
O Babylon, you great city!
In a single moment
God’s judgment came on you.”

Rev 18:11

Rev 18:11The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.

Rev 18:12

Rev 18:12She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble.

Rev 18:13

Rev 18:13She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, and bodies—that is, human slaves.

Rev 18:14

Rev 18:14“The fancy things you loved so much
are gone,” they cry.
“All your luxuries and splendor
are gone forever,
never to be yours again.”

Rev 18:15

Rev 18:15The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,

Rev 18:16

Rev 18:16“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!

Rev 18:17

Rev 18:17In a single moment
all the wealth of the city is gone!” And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.

Rev 18:18

Rev 18:18They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, “Where is there another city as great as this?”

Rev 18:19

Rev 18:19And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,
“How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
The shipowners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.”

Rev 18:20

Rev 18:20Rejoice over her fate, O heaven
and people of God and apostles and prophets!
For at last God has judged her
for your sakes.

Rev 18:21

Rev 18:21Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted,
“Just like this, the great city Babylon
will be thrown down with violence
and will never be found again.

Rev 18:22

Rev 18:22The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets
will never be heard in you again.
No craftsmen and no trades
will ever be found in you again.
The sound of the mill
will never be heard in you again.

Rev 18:23

Rev 18:23The light of a lamp
will never shine in you again.
The happy voices of brides and grooms
will never be heard in you again.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.

Rev 18:24

Rev 18:24In your[fn] streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God’s holy people
and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world.”