The Fall of Babylon
1 After this I saw nanother angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and othe earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,
p“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become qa dwelling place for demons,
a haunt rfor every unclean spirit,
a haunt sfor every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk1
tthe wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and uthe kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and vthe merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
w“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5 for xher sins are heaped high as heaven,
and yGod has remembered her iniquities.
6 zPay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her adouble for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her bin the cup she mixed.
7 cAs she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
d‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.’
8 For this reason her plagues will come ein a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and fshe will be burned up with fire;
for gmighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
9 And hthe kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, iwill weep and wail over her jwhen they see the smoke of her burning. 10 kThey will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! Alas! lYou great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For min a single hour your judgment has come.”
11 And nthe merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.2
14 “The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendors
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
15 oThe merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, pwill stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
qthat was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For rin a single hour all this wealth shas been laid waste.”
And tall shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and ucried out vas they saw the smoke of her burning,
w“What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw xdust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, for the great city
ywhere all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For zin a single hour she has been laid waste.
20 aRejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and bapostles and prophets,
for cGod has given judgment for you against her!”
21 Then da mighty angel etook up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon fthe great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22 and gthe sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,
will be heard in you no more,
and a craftsman of any craft
will be found in you no more,
and hthe sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and ithe voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for jyour merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived kby your sorcery.
24 And lin her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of mall who have been slain on earth.”
Book Three
God Is My Strength and Portion Forever
A Psalm of bAsaph.
1 Truly God is good to cIsrael,
to those who are dpure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 eFor I was fenvious of the arrogant
when I saw the gprosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not hstricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is itheir necklace;
violence covers them as ja garment.
7 Their keyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and lspeak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
11 And they say, n“How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they oincrease in riches.
13 All in vain have I pkept my heart clean
and qwashed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been hstricken
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed tthe generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me ua wearisome task,
17 until I went into vthe sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their wend.
18 Truly you set them in xslippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed yin a moment,
swept away utterly by zterrors!
20 Like aa dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when byou rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was cbrutish and ignorant;
I was like da beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you ehold my right hand.
24 You fguide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will greceive me to glory.
25 hWhom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 iMy flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is jthe strength2 of my heart and my kportion lforever.
27 For behold, those who are mfar from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is nunfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to obe near God;
I have made the Lord God my prefuge,
that I may qtell of all your works.
