Babylon Is Fallen (Isaiah 21:1–10)
1 UST After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. God had given great authority to this angel. The angel was shining so brightly that he lit up the earth. BSB BSB: After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory.
2 UST The angel shouted very loudly,“God is about to destroy the evil city of Babylon completely.{ People will no longer live in the ruins of the city.} All kinds of evil spirits will live there. All kinds of disgusting scavenger birds will also live there. BSB BSB: And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
3 UST God is going to destroy Babylon because that evil city influenced many people groups to devote themselves to idol worship. Babylon influenced the rulers of those groups, and they made their people worship idols. Babylon also set an example of living in luxury. This made people in other places want to live in the same way. Those who sold luxury goods made a lot of money selling the goods to those people.” BSB BSB: All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”
4 UST Then I heard someone else speak from heaven. He said,“My people, run away from that evil city of Babylon! If you stay there, you may sin as the people there do. And if you sin as they do, I will punish you in the same way that I will punish them. BSB BSB: Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
5 UST Run away because the people of that evil city have sinned very greatly and God is now going to punish them for what they have done.” BSB BSB: For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.
6 UST { The voice from heaven told the angels whom God had assigned to punish Babylon,}“Punish the people of that city just as much as they harmed other people. In fact, cause them to suffer twice as much as they caused other people to suffer. BSB BSB: Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
7 UST The people of the city of Babylon honored themselves. They indulged in pleasures. To the same extent that they did that, torment them and cause them to grieve. Do that because they were confident that they would always rule other people. They were confident that they could provide themselves with everything they needed. They were confident that nothing bad would ever happen to them. BSB BSB: As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’
8 UST Because the people of Babylon are so wicked, terrible things will happen to them all at once. Some will die and others will mourn for them. People will be hungry because they will have no food. The city will burn up completely. The Lord God is able to punish her in these ways because he is mighty.” BSB BSB: Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
Lament over Babylon 9 UST The rulers of the peoples who live on earth worshiped idols with the people of Babylon. They indulged in pleasures with the people of Babylon. So they will mourn greatly for the city when they see it burning up. BSB BSB: Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
10 UST Those rulers will stand far away from Babylon because they will be afraid that God will punish them too if they get too close. They will say,“How very terrible it is for the Great Babylon, that strong city! God is punishing the people who live there so quickly!” BSB BSB: In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”
11 UST And the merchants of the earth will mourn greatly for the city because no one living there will ever again buy the things that they have to sell. BSB BSB: And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—
12 UST They sell ornaments made of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls. They sell expensive cloth made of fine linen and silk, expensive cloth that is dyed purple and crimson. They sell many kinds of scented wood and many kinds of items made of ivory, the most expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble. They sell cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, and grain. They sell cattle, sheep, horses, and chariots. They even sell human beings as slaves. BSB BSB: cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
14 UST Yes, the good things the people of Babylon longed to have are gone! God has punished them by destroying their many valuable possessions! They have lost those possessions permanently. BSB BSB: And they will say: “The fruit of your soul’s desire has departed from you; all your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be seen again.”
15 UST Many merchants earned a lot of money by selling these things. Those merchants will stand far away from Babylon because they will be afraid that God will punish them too if they get too close. They will mourn greatly BSB BSB: The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn,
16 UST and they will say,“Very terrible things have happened to that great city! That city was like a woman who dressed in clothes made of fine linen and expensive cloth dyed purple and crimson and who wore gold jewelry with precious stones and pearls. BSB BSB: saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
17 UST But God has destroyed all these expensive things so quickly!” Every ship captain, every ship passenger, all sailors, and all others who do work involving the ocean will stand far away from the city. BSB BSB: For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance
18 UST When they see the smoke of the fire that is burning there, they will shout,“No other city has ever been like that great city!” BSB BSB: and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.
19 UST They will even throw dust on their heads{ to show that they are sad}. Then they will shout in great distress,“Very terrible things have happened to Babylon. The people who lived in that city bought many expensive things, so that people who owned ships earned a lot of money by transporting those things there. God has destroyed that city so quickly!” BSB BSB: Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.”
20 UST Then someone spoke from heaven saying,“You who live in heaven, rejoice over what has happened to Babylon! You who are God’ s people, including you apostles and prophets, rejoice because God has justly punished the people of that city because they harmed you so badly!” BSB BSB: Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.
The Doom of Babylon 21 UST Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large stone for grinding grain and he threw it into the ocean. Then he said,“God will destroy the great city of Babylon abruptly! It will disappear completely, just as that stone disappeared into the ocean! Babylon will be gone forever! BSB BSB: Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again.
22 UST In that city there will never again be anyone playing harps, singing, playing flutes, or blowing trumpets. There will no longer be any skilled workers making things. There will never again be people grinding grain at the mills. BSB BSB: And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.
23 UST No lamp will ever again shine there. There will never again be the happy voices of any bridegroom and his bride. God will destroy this city because its merchants were the most important people in the world. They were so prosperous because it was as if the city used witchcraft to get every people group to live as its people did. BSB BSB: The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”
24 UST The city is also guilty of killing the prophets and others of God’ s people. Indeed,{ because it used violence and set an example of violence,} it is guilty of every murder that people committed on the earth!” BSB BSB: And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.
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