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Saturday 22 March 2014

Revelation16-18 NWT(2013 Edition)


 

16 And I heard a loud voice out of the sanctuary+ say to the seven angels: “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the anger of God on the earth.”+2 The first one went off and poured out his bowl on the earth.+ And a hurtful and malignant ulcer+ afflicted the people who had the mark of the wild beast+ and who were worshipping its image.+3 The second one poured out his bowl into the sea.+ And it became blood+ like that of a dead man, and every living creature* died, yes, the things in the sea.+4 The third one poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs* of water.+ And they became blood.+5 I heard the angel over the waters say: “You, the One who is and who was,+ the loyal One,+ are righteous, for you have issued these judgments,+6 because they poured out the blood of holy ones and of prophets,+ and you have given them blood to drink;+ they deserve it.”+7 And I heard the altar say: “Yes, Jehovah* God, the Almighty,+ true and righteous are your judgments.”*+8 The fourth one poured out his bowl on the sun,+ and to the sun it was granted to scorch the people with fire.9 And the people were scorched by the great heat, but they blasphemed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent and give glory to him.10 The fifth one poured out his bowl on the throne of the wild beast. And its kingdom became darkened,+ and they began to gnaw their tongues because of their pain,11 but they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their ulcers, and they did not repent of their works.12 The sixth one poured out his bowl on the great river Eu·phra′tes,+ and its water was dried up+ to prepare the way for the kings+ from the rising of the sun.*13 And I saw three unclean inspired expressions* that looked like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon+ and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.14 They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and they perform signs,+ and they go out to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war+ of the great day of God the Almighty.+15 “Look! I am coming as a thief.+ Happy is the one who stays awake+ and keeps his outer garments, so that he may not walk naked and people look upon his shamefulness.”+16 And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Armageddon.*+17 The seventh one poured out his bowl on the air. At this a loud voice came out of the sanctuary+ from the throne, saying: “It has come to pass!”18 And there were flashes of lightning and voices and thunders, and there was a great earthquake unlike any that had occurred since men came to be on the earth,+ so extensive and so great was the earthquake.19 The great city+ split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; and Babylon the Great+ was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.+20 Also, every island fled, and mountains were not found.+21 Then great hailstones, each about the weight of a talent,* fell from heaven on the people,+ and the people blasphemed God because of the plague of hail,+ for the plague was unusually great.
 
17 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls+ came and said to me: “Come, I will show you the judgment on the great prostitute who sits on many waters,+2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality,*+ and earth’s inhabitants were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.”*+3 And he carried me away in the power of the spirit into a wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored wild beast that was full of blasphemous names and that had seven heads and ten horns.4 The woman was clothed in purple+ and scarlet, and she was adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,+ and she had in her hand a golden cup that was full of disgusting things and the unclean things of her sexual immorality.*5 On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the mother of the prostitutes+ and of the disgusting things of the earth.”+6 And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.+Well, on seeing her I was greatly amazed.7 So the angel said to me: “Why is it that you were amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman+ and of the wild beast that is carrying her and that has the seven heads and the ten horns:+8 The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss,+ and it is to go off into destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth—those whose names have not been written in the scroll of life+ from the founding of the world—will be amazed when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present.9 “This calls for a mind* that has wisdom: The seven heads+ mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top.10 And there are seven kings: Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet arrived; but when he does arrive, he must remain a short while.11 And the wild beast that was but is not,+ it is also an eighth king, but it springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.12 “The ten horns that you saw mean ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings for one hour with the wild beast.13 These have one thought, so they give their power and authority to the wild beast.14 These will battle with the Lamb,+ but because he is Lord of lords and King of kings,+ the Lamb will conquer them.+ Also, those with him who are called and chosen and faithful will do so.”+15 He said to me: “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is sitting, mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.*+16 And the ten horns+ that you saw and the wild beast,+ these will hate the prostitute+ and will make her devastated and naked, and they will eat up her flesh and completely burn her with fire.+17 For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought,+ yes, to carry out their one thought by giving their kingdom to the wild beast,+ until the words of God will have been accomplished.18 And the woman+ whom you saw means the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.”
 
18 After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.2 And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: “She has fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen,+ and she has become a dwelling place of demons and a place where every unclean spirit* and every unclean and hated bird lurks!+3 For because of the wine of the passion* of her sexual immorality,* all the nations have fallen victim,+ and the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her,+ and the merchants* of the earth became rich owing to the power of her shameless luxury.”4 And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people,+ if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.+5 For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven,+ and God has called her acts of injustice* to mind.+6 Repay her in the way she treated others,+ yes, pay her back double for the things she has done;+ in the cup+ she has mixed, mix a double portion for her.+7 To the extent that she glorified herself and lived in shameless luxury, to that extent give her torment and mourning. For she keeps saying in her heart: ‘I sit as queen, and I am not a widow, and I will never see mourning.’+8 That is why in one day her plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be completely burned with fire,+ because Jehovah* God, who judged her, is strong.+9 “And the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality* with her and lived with her in shameless luxury will weep and beat themselves in grief over her when they see the smoke from her burning.10 They will stand at a distance because of their fear of her torment and say: ‘Too bad, too bad, you great city,+ Babylon you strong city, because in one hour your judgment has arrived!’11 “Also, the merchants of the earth are weeping and mourning over her, because there is no one to buy their full cargo anymore,12 a full cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth; and everything made from scented wood; and every sort of object made from ivory, and from precious wood, copper, iron, and marble;13 also cinnamon, Indian spice, incense, perfumed oil, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, carriages, slaves, and human lives.*14 Yes, the fine fruit that you* desired has left you, and all the delicacies and the splendid things have vanished from you, never to be found again.15 “The merchants who sold these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of their fear of her torment and will weep and mourn,16 saying: ‘Too bad, too bad, the great city, clothed with fine linen, purple, and scarlet and richly adorned with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls,+17 because in one hour such great riches have been devastated!’“And every ship captain and every seafaring person and sailors and all those who make a living by the sea stood at a distance18 and cried out as they looked at the smoke from her burning and said: ‘What city is like the great city?’19 They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and mourning, and said: ‘Too bad, too bad, the great city, in which all those who had ships at sea became rich from her wealth, because in one hour she has been devastated!’+20 “Be glad over her, O heaven,+ also you holy ones+ and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced his judgment on her in your behalf!”+21 And a strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying: “Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again.+22 And the sound of singers who accompany themselves on the harp, of musicians, of flutists, and of trumpeters will never be heard in you again. And no craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again, and no sound of a millstone will ever be heard in you again.23 No light of a lamp will ever shine in you again, and no voice of a bridegroom and of a bride will ever be heard in you again; for your merchants were the top-ranking men of the earth, and by your spiritistic practices+ all the nations were misled.24 Yes, in her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones+ and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.”+