169 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
169 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
The Fall of Babylon
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# Chapter 18
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1. After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.
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2. He gave a mighty shout:
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"Babylon is fallen--that great city is fallen!
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She has become a home for demons.
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She is a hideout for every foul spirit,
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a hideout for every foul vulture
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and every foul and dreadful animal.
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3. For all the nations have fallen
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because of the wine of her passionate immorality.
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The kings of the world
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have committed adultery with her.
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Because of her desires for extravagant luxury,
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the merchants of the world have grown rich."
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4. Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
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"Come away from her, my people.
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Do not take part in her sins,
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or you will be punished with her.
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5. For her sins are piled as high as heaven,
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and God remembers her evil deeds.
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6. Do to her as she has done to others.
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Double her penalty for all her evil deeds.
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She brewed a cup of terror for others,
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so brew twice as much for her.
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7. She glorified herself and lived in luxury,
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so match it now with torment and sorrow.
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She boasted in her heart,
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'I am queen on my throne.
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I am no helpless widow,
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and I have no reason to mourn.'
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8. Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day--
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death and mourning and famine.
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She will be completely consumed by fire,
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for the Lord God who judges her is mighty."
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9. And 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.
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10. They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,
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"How terrible, how terrible for you,
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O Babylon, you great city!
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In a single moment
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God's judgment came on you."
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11. The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.
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12. She 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.
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13. She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies--that is, human slaves.
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14. "The fancy things you loved so much
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are gone," they cry.
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"All your luxuries and splendor
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are gone forever,
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never to be yours again."
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15. The 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,
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16.
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"How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
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She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens,
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decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!
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17.
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In a single moment
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all the wealth of the city is gone!"
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And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.
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18. They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say, "Where is there another city as great as this?"
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19. And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out,
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"How terrible, how terrible for that great city!
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The shipowners became wealthy
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by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
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In a single moment it is all gone."
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20. Rejoice over her fate, O heaven
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and people of God and apostles and prophets!
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For at last God has judged her
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for your sakes.
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21. Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a huge millstone. He threw it into the ocean and shouted,
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"Just like this, the great city Babylon
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will be thrown down with violence
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and will never be found again.
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22. The sound of harps, singers, flutes, and trumpets
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will never be heard in you again.
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No craftsmen and no trades
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will ever be found in you again.
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The sound of the mill
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will never be heard in you again.
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23. The light of a lamp
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will never shine in you again.
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The happy voices of brides and grooms
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will never be heard in you again.
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For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
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and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.
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24. In your streets flowed the blood of the prophets and of God's holy people
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and the blood of people slaughtered all over the world."
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