1 T hen one of the seven angels who had the seven jars came to me. He said, “Come! I will show you how the powerful woman who sells the use of her body will be punished. She sits on the many waters of the world.

And one of the seven angels, which had the seven bowls, came and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I will shew thee the sentence of the great harlot who sits upon the many waters;

2 T he kings of the earth have done sex sins with her. People of the world have been made drunk with the wine of her sex sins.”

with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and they that dwell on the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

3 I was carried away in the Spirit by the angel to a desert. I saw a woman sitting on a red wild animal. It had seven heads and ten horns. All over the red wild animal was written bad names which spoke against God.

And he carried me away in spirit to a desert; and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

4 T he woman was wearing purple and red clothes. She was wearing gold and pearls and stones worth much money. She had in her hand a gold cup full of sinful things from her sex sins.

And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and had ornaments of gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication;

5 T here was a name written on her forehead which had a secret meaning. It said, “The big and powerful Babylon, mother of all women who sell the use of their bodies and mother of everything sinful of the earth.”

and upon her forehead a name written, Mystery, great Babylon, the mother of the harlots, and of the abominations of the earth.

6 I looked at the woman. She was drunk with the blood of God’s people and those who had been killed for telling about Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered very much.

And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And I wondered, seeing her, with great wonder.

7 T he angel asked me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the secret about this woman and the red wild animal that carries her. It is the red wild animal with seven heads and ten horns.

And the angel said to me, Why hast thou wondered? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

8 T he red wild animal you saw was alive but is now dead. He will come up from the hole without a bottom and be destroyed. The people of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the beginning of the world, will be surprised as they look at the red wild animal. He was alive, but not now, but will yet come.

The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into destruction: and they who dwell on the earth, whose names are not written from the founding of the world in the book of life, shall wonder, seeing the beast, that it was, and is not, and shall be present.

9 “ Here is where we need wisdom. The seven heads of the animal are mountains where the woman sits.

Here is the mind that has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains, whereon the woman sits.

10 T hey are seven kings also. Five of them are no longer kings. The sixth one is now king. The seventh one will be king, but only for a little while.

And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes he must remain a little while.

11 T he red wild animal that died is the eighth king. He belongs to the first seven kings, but he will be destroyed also.

And the beast that was and is not, he also is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into destruction.

12 “ The ten horns of the red wild animal which you saw are ten kings. They have not become leaders yet. But they will be given the right and the power to lead their nations for one hour with the red wild animal.

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have not yet received a kingdom, but receive authority as kings one hour with the beast.

13 T hey agree to give the right and the power to the red wild animal.

These have one mind, and give their power and authority to the beast.

14 T hese kings will fight and make war with the Lamb. But the Lamb will win the war because He is Lord of lords and King of kings. His people are the called and chosen and faithful ones.”

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords and King of kings: and they with him called, and chosen, and faithful.

15 T hen the angel said to me, “You saw the waters where the woman who sold the use of her body is sitting. The waters are people and large groups of people and nations and languages.

And he says to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

16 T he ten horns you saw and the red wild animal will hate the woman who sold the use of her body. They will take everything from her and even her clothes. They will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire;

17 G od put in their minds a plan that would carry out His desire. They will agree to give their nation to the red wild animal until the words of God have been completed.

for God has given to their hearts to do his mind, and to act with one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

18 T he woman you saw is the big and powerful city that has power over the kings of the earth.”

And the woman which thou sawest is the great city, which has kingship over the kings of the earth.