The New Testament

The New TestamentRevelation

Revelation 18

1After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory. 2He cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling of demons, a haunt of every unclean spirit, a haunt of every unclean bird, and a haunt of every unclean and hated beast. 3For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the power of her luxury.”

4I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you do not share in her sins and do not receive her plagues, 5because her sins have piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her wrongs. 6Repay her as she herself repaid, and double the repayment according to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix a double portion for her. 7As much as she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her that much torment and mourning, because she says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and I am not a widow, and I will certainly never see mourning.’ 8Because of this, her plagues will come in one day: death and mourning and famine. She will be burned up with fire, because mighty is the Lord God who judged her.”

9The kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10They will stand far away for fear of her torment, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! In one hour your judgment has come.”

11The merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any longer: 12cargo of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls, fine linen and purple cloth and silk and scarlet cloth, every kind of fragrant wood, every ivory object, every object of costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, 13cinnamon and spice, incense and ointment and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages and bodies—and human souls.

14“The fruit your soul desired has gone from you, and all the sumptuous and splendid things have perished from you, and people will certainly never find them again.”

15The merchants of these things, who grew rich from her, will stand far away for fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, dressed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stone and pearls! 17In one hour such great wealth has been laid waste.”

Every shipmaster and everyone sailing from place to place, sailors, and all who work the sea stood far away 18and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “What city is like the great city?” 19They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who have ships on the sea grew rich from her costly abundance! In one hour she has been laid waste.”

20Rejoice over her, heaven, and you holy ones and apostles and prophets, because God has judged your case against her.

21A mighty angel lifted a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “With such violence Babylon the great city will be thrown down, and she will certainly never be found again. 22The sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will certainly never be heard in you again. No craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again, and the sound of a mill will never be heard in you again. 23The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again, because your merchants were the nobles of the earth, because all the nations were misled by your sorcery. 24In her was found the blood of prophets and holy ones and of all who had been slaughtered on the earth.”

Translation notes 5

18:2–3 — Haunts and falling. The base includes the final phrase about unclean beasts, absent from several other editions. “Haunt” describes the desolated city's lodging or holding place for its new inhabitants. In verse 3 the base reads “have fallen”; “have drunk” is a significant textual alternative, fitting the wine imagery directly.

18:4–8 — Repayment. The voice warns God's people to separate from Babylon's sins and doom. The command to repay is not expressly addressed to those people; its agents are left unnamed. The repeated double language is retained rather than reduced to a general statement of fair repayment. “Death” can mean pestilence in this sequence of disasters.

18:11–14 — Bodies and souls. “Bodies” was a commercial designation for slaves. “Human souls” means human lives or people, exposing the human reality of this cargo; it is not a separate trade in disembodied spirits. Both expressions remain visible. “Fruit” may include the ripe delicacies or desirable produce she craved. Verse 14 shifts from speaking about Babylon to addressing her.

18:17–20 — Lament and verdict. The source shifts tense within the vision, and the draft retains that movement. “Everyone sailing from place to place” may instead mean all passengers or coastal travelers. “Judged your case against her” expresses the compressed legal phrase; the point is vindication of those she harmed.

18:21–24 — Never again. Repeated loss of music, craft, food preparation, light, and marriage depicts the complete end of city life. The chapter links commerce, deceptive power, luxury, and bloodshed; none is replaced by a single modern political label.