Revelation 15-18

English Standard Version

The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues

15 Then ^(A)I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, ^(B)seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

²And I saw ^(C)what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those ^(D)who had conquered the beast and its image and ^(E)the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass ^(F)with harps of God in their hands. ³And they sing ^(G)the song of Moses, ^(H)the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

^(I)“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
^(J)Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!^[a]
⁴^(K)Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are ^(L)holy.
    ^(M)All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

⁵After this I looked, and ^(N)the sanctuary of ^(O)the tent^[b] of witness in heaven was opened, ⁶and out of the sanctuary came ^(P)the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright ^(Q)linen, ^(R)with golden sashes around their chests. ⁷And one of ^(S)the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven ^(T)golden bowls full of the wrath of God ^(U)who lives forever and ever, ⁸and ^(V)the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and ^(W)no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling ^(X)the seven angels, “Go and ^(Y)pour out on the earth ^(Z)the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

²So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful ^(AA)sores came upon the people who bore ^(AB)the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

³The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and ^(AC)it became like the blood of a corpse, and ^(AD)every living thing died that was in the sea.

⁴The third angel poured out his bowl into ^(AE)the rivers and the springs of water, and ^(AF)they became blood. ⁵And I heard the angel in charge of the waters^[c] say,

^(AG)“Just are you, ^(AH)O Holy One, ^(AI)who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
⁶For ^(AJ)they have shed the blood of ^(AK)saints and prophets,
and ^(AL)you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

⁷And I heard ^(AM)the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
^(AN)true and just are your judgments!”

⁸The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people ^(AO)with fire. ⁹They were scorched by the fierce heat, and ^(AP)they cursed^[d] the name of God who had power over these plagues. ^(AQ)They did not repent ^(AR)and give him glory.

¹⁰The fifth angel poured out his bowl on ^(AS)the throne of the beast, and ^(AT)its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish ¹¹and cursed ^(AU)the God of heaven for their pain and ^(AV)sores. ^(AW)They did not repent of their deeds.

¹²The sixth angel poured out his bowl on ^(AX)the great river Euphrates, and ^(AY)its water was dried up, ^(AZ)to prepare the way for the kings ^(BA)from the east. ¹³And I saw, coming out of the mouth of ^(BB)the dragon and out of the mouth of ^(BC)the beast and out of the mouth of ^(BD)the false prophet, three ^(BE)unclean spirits like ^(BF)frogs. ¹⁴For they are ^(BG)demonic spirits, ^(BH)performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, ^(BI)to assemble them for battle on ^(BJ)the great day of God the Almighty. ¹⁵(“Behold, ^(BK)I am coming like a thief! ^(BL)Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, ^(BM)that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) ¹⁶And ^(BN)they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called ^(BO)Armageddon.

The Seventh Bowl

¹⁷The seventh angel poured out his bowl into ^(BP)the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ^(BQ)“It is done!” ¹⁸And there were ^(BR)flashes of lightning, rumblings,^[e] peals of thunder, and ^(BS)a great earthquake ^(BT)such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. ¹⁹^(BU)The great city ^(BV)was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God ^(BW)remembered ^(BX)Babylon the great, ^(BY)to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰And ^(BZ)every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. ²¹And ^(CA)great hailstones, about one hundred pounds^[f] each, fell from heaven on people; and ^(CB)they cursed God for ^(CC)the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17 Then ^(CD)one of the seven angels who had ^(CE)the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of ^(CF)the great prostitute ^(CG)who is seated on many waters, ²^(CH)with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and ^(CI)with the wine of whose sexual immorality ^(CJ)the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” ³And ^(CK)he carried me away in the Spirit ^(CL)into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on ^(CM)a scarlet beast that was full of ^(CN)blasphemous names, and ^(CO)it had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman ^(CP)was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned ^(CQ)with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand ^(CR)a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. ⁵And on her forehead was written a name of ^(CS)mystery: ^(CT)“Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” ⁶And I saw the woman, drunk ^(CU)with the blood of the saints, the blood of ^(CV)the martyrs of Jesus.^[g]

When I saw her, I marveled greatly. ⁷But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you ^(CW)the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. ⁸The beast that you saw ^(CX)was, and is not, and ^(CY)is about to rise from ^(CZ)the bottomless pit^[h] and ^(DA)go to destruction. And ^(DB)the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in ^(DC)the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because ^(DD)it was and is not and is to come. ⁹^(DE)This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; ¹⁰they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. ¹¹As for the beast ^(DF)that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. ¹²And ^(DG)the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings ^(DH)for one hour, together with the beast. ¹³These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴They ^(DI)will make war on the Lamb, and ^(DJ)the Lamb will conquer them, for he is ^(DK)Lord of lords and ^(DL)King of kings, and those with him are ^(DM)called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵And the angel^[i] said to me, ^(DN)“The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. ¹⁶And ^(DO)the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast ^(DP)will hate the prostitute. They will make her ^(DQ)desolate and ^(DR)naked, and ^(DS)devour her flesh and ^(DT)burn her up with fire, ¹⁷for ^(DU)God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and ^(DV)handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. ¹⁸And the woman that you saw is ^(DW)the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

The Fall of Babylon

18 After this I saw ^(DX)another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and ^(DY)the earth was made bright with his glory. ²And he called out with a mighty voice,

^(DZ)“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
    She has become ^(EA)a dwelling place for demons,
a haunt ^(EB)for every unclean spirit,
    a haunt ^(EC)for every unclean bird,
    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
³For all nations have drunk^[j]
    ^(ED)the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and ^(EE)the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
    and ^(EF)the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

^(EG)“Come out of her, my people,
    lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
⁵for ^(EH)her sins are heaped high as heaven,
    and ^(EI)God has remembered her iniquities.
⁶^(EJ)Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,
    and repay her ^(EK)double for her deeds;
    mix a double portion for her ^(EL)in the cup she mixed.
⁷^(EM)As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
    so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
    ^(EN)‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
    and mourning I shall never see.’
⁸For this reason her plagues will come ^(EO)in a single day,
    death and mourning and famine,
and ^(EP)she will be burned up with fire;
    for ^(EQ)mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”

⁹And ^(ER)the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, ^(ES)will weep and wail over her ^(ET)when they see the smoke of her burning. ¹⁰^(EU)They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! ^(EV)You great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For ^(EW)in a single hour your judgment has come.”

¹¹And ^(EX)the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, ¹²cargo 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, ¹³cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.^[k]

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^(EY)The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, ^(EZ)will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

¹⁶“Alas, alas, for the great city
    ^(FA)that was clothed in fine linen,
        in purple and scarlet,
    adorned with gold,
        with jewels, and with pearls!
¹⁷For ^(FB)in a single hour all this wealth ^(FC)has been laid waste.”

And ^(FD)all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off ¹⁸and ^(FE)cried out ^(FF)as they saw the smoke of her burning,

^(FG)“What city was like the great city?”

¹⁹And they threw ^(FH)dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city
    ^(FI)where all who had ships at sea
    grew rich by her wealth!
For ^(FJ)in a single hour she has been laid waste.
²⁰^(FK)Rejoice over her, O heaven,
    and you saints and ^(FL)apostles and prophets,
for ^(FM)God has given judgment for you against her!”

²¹Then ^(FN)a mighty angel ^(FO)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“So will Babylon ^(FP)the great city be thrown down with violence,
    and will be found no more;
²²and ^(FQ)the 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 ^(FR)the sound of the mill
    will be heard in you no more,
²³and the light of a lamp
    will shine in you no more,
and ^(FS)the voice of bridegroom and bride
    will be heard in you no more,
for ^(FT)your merchants were the great ones of the earth,
    and all nations were deceived ^(FU)by your sorcery.
²⁴And ^(FV)in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
    and of ^(FW)all who have been slain on earth.”