1 After these things, I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority {exousia: delegated rule}, and his glory {doxa: heavenly radiance} made the earth shine.
2 He shouted with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen—fallen is Babylon {Babylōn: oppressive world city} the great! Now she has become a dwelling place {katoikētērion: permanent residence} for demons, a prison for every unclean spirit, a prison for every unclean bird, and a prison for every unclean and detested beast.”
3 Because from the wine {oinos: intoxicating lure} of the wrath of her fornication, all the nations have fallen, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her luxury {strenos: sensual extravagance}.
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say, “Depart from her, My {Theos, Holy Judge} people, so that you do not partake in her sins {hamartiai: transgressions}, and so that you do not receive any of her plagues.”
5 For her sins {hamartiai: accumulated guilt} have clung as far as heaven, and God {Theos, Righteous Judge} has remembered her injustices.
6 Repay {apodote: judicial repayment} her in the same way she herself repaid, and according to her deeds {erga: recorded actions} return to her double; in the cup which she mixed, mix for her a double measure.
7 To the extent that she glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her that same measure of torment {basanismos: Severe Suffering} and mourning, because in her heart {kardia: Inner Life} she says, “I sit as a queen, and I am not a widow, and I will never see mourning.”
8 For this reason, in one day her plagues {plegai: judgment calamities} will come—death, and mourning, and famine—and she will be burned up with fire, for mighty is the Lord God {kyrios theos, Supreme Judge} who has judged her.
9 And the kings {basileis: ruling powers} of the earth, those who committed sexual immorality with her and lived luxuriously, will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning {pyrosis: fiery judgment},
10 They stood far away {makrothen: far away} because they feared her torment {basanismos: severe suffering}, and they said, “Alas, alas, Babylon the great, the mighty city, because in one hour your judgment has come.”
11 And the merchants of the earth {ges: the earth} weep and mourn over her, because no one purchases their cargo {gomon: goods for trade} any longer.
12 Cargo of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every item of thyine wood {thyinon: aromatic luxury wood} and every ivory vessel and every vessel made from the most precious wood {timiotatou: highest-valued material}, and bronze and iron and marble.
13 And cinnamon, and amomum {amomon: aromatic spice}, and incenses, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and bodies {somaton: human bodies treated as cargo}, and souls of men.
14 And the fruit that your soul {psuche: inmost life} longed for has departed from you, and all the luxurious things {lipara: rich delicacies} and the splendid things have perished from you, and they will never find them again.
15 The merchants of these things, those who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment{basanismos: intense suffering}, weeping and mourning{pentho: lamentation for loss}.
16 Saying, “Alas, alas, the great city {polis: influential hub}, clothed in fine linen {byssinon: costly white fabric} and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stone and pearl!”
17 For in one hour {hora: brief moment} such great wealth {ploutos: vast material assets} has been laid waste. And every shipmaster, and everyone who sails to any place, and the sailors, and all who make their living from the sea, stood at a distance.
18 And they cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning {pyroseos: destructive fire}, saying, “What city {polei: renowned center} is like this great city?”
19 And they threw dust upon their heads and cried out, weeping and mourning, saying, “Woe, woe, for the great city in which all those who had ships on the sea became rich from her costliness {timiotes: high value, preciousness}, because in a single hour she was made desolate {eremothe: utterly laid waste}.”
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy ones {hagioi: consecrated people}, apostles, and prophets, because God {Theos, Righteous Avenger} has given judgment for you against her.
21 And one mighty angel {angelos: heavenly messenger} lifted up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus, with a rush {hormemati: swift force}, Babylon the great city will be thrown down, and it will never be found again.”
22 And the sound {phone: musical sound} of harpists and musicians, of flutists and trumpeters, shall never be heard in you any longer; and every craftsman {technites: skilled tradesman} of every trade shall never be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill shall never be heard in you any longer.
23 And the light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will never be heard in you again, because your merchants {emporoi: luxury traders} were the great ones of the earth, and because by your sorcery {pharmakeia: occult manipulation} all the nations were led astray.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets {propheton: divinely sent messengers} and of saints {hagion: set-apart people}, and of all who had been slain on the earth.