The Fall of Babylon

Revelation 18 After this I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and his splendor brightened the whole earth. ²He cried out in a loud voice: "She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She is now haunted by demons and unclean spirits; all kinds of filthy and hateful birds live in her. ³For all the nations have drunk her wine--the strong wine of her immoral lust. The kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the world grew rich from her unrestrained lust."
⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
"Come out, my people! Come out from her!
You must not take part in her sins;
you must not share in her punishment!
⁵For her sins are piled up as high as heaven,
and God remembers her wicked ways.
⁶Treat her exactly as she has treated you;
pay her back double for all she has done.
Fill her cup with a drink twice as strong
as the drink she prepared for you.
⁷Give her as much suffering and grief
as the glory and luxury she gave herself.
For she keeps telling herself:
'Here I sit, a queen!
I am no widow,
I will never know grief !'
⁸Because of this, in one day she will be struck with plagues--
disease, grief, and famine.
And she will be burned with fire,
because the Lord God, who judges her, is mighty."
⁹The kings of the earth who took part in her immorality and lust will cry and weep over the city when they see the smoke from the flames that consume her. ¹⁰They stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They say, "How terrible! How awful! This great and mighty city Babylon! In just one hour you have been punished!"
¹¹The merchants of the earth also cry and mourn for her, because no one buys their goods any longer; ¹²no one buys their gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; their goods of linen, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth; all kinds of rare woods and all kinds of objects made of ivory and of expensive wood, of bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³and cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages, slaves, and even human lives. ¹⁴The merchants say to her, "All the good things you longed to own have disappeared, and all your wealth and glamor are gone, and you will never find them again!" ¹⁵The merchants, who became rich from doing business in that city, will stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They will cry and mourn, ¹⁶and say, "How terrible! How awful for the great city! She used to dress herself in linen, purple, and scarlet, and cover herself with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls! ¹⁷And in one hour she has lost all this wealth!"
All the ships' captains and passengers, the sailors and all others who earn their living on the sea, stood a long way off, ¹⁸and cried out as they saw the smoke from the flames that consumed her: "There never has been another city like this great city!" ¹⁹They threw dust on their heads, they cried and mourned, saying, "How terrible! How awful for the great city! She is the city where all who have ships sailing the seas became rich on her wealth! And in one hour she has lost everything!"
²⁰Be glad, heaven, because of her destruction! Be glad, God's people and the apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her for what she did to you!
²¹Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "This is how the great city Babylon will be violently thrown down and will never be seen again. ²²The music of harps and of human voices, of players of the flute and the trumpet, will never be heard in you again! No workman in any trade will ever be found in you again; and the sound of the millstone will be heard no more! ²³Never again will the light of a lamp be seen in you; no more will the voices of brides and grooms be heard in you. Your merchants were the most powerful in all the world, and with your false magic you deceived all the peoples of the world!"
²⁴Babylon was punished because the blood of prophets and of God's people was found in the city; yes, the blood of all those who have been killed on earth.

Chaos in Jerusalem

Isaiah 3 Now the Lord, the Almighty LORD, is about to take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything and everyone that the people depend on. He is going to take away their food and their water, ²their heroes and their soldiers, their judges and their prophets, their fortunetellers and their statesmen, ³their military and civilian leaders, their politicians and everyone who uses magic to control events. ⁴The LORD will let the people be governed by immature boys. ⁵Everyone will take advantage of everyone else. Young people will not respect their elders, and worthless people will not respect their superiors.
⁶A time will come when the members of a clan will choose one of their number and say to him, "You at least have something to wear, so be our leader in this time of trouble."
⁷But he will answer, "Not me! I can't help you. I don't have any food or clothes either. Don't make me your leader!"
⁸Yes, Jerusalem is doomed! Judah is collapsing! Everything they say and do is against the LORD; they openly insult God himself. ⁹Their prejudices will be held against them. They sin as openly as the people of Sodom did. They are doomed, and they have brought it on themselves.
¹⁰The righteous will be happy, and things will go well for them. They will get to enjoy what they have worked for. ¹¹But evil people are doomed; what they have done to others will now be done to them.
¹²Moneylenders oppress my people, and their creditors cheat them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you, so that you do not know which way to turn.

The LORD Judges His People

¹³The LORD is ready to state his case; he is ready to judge his people. ¹⁴The LORD is bringing the elders and leaders of his people to judgment. He makes this accusation: "You have plundered vineyards, and your houses are full of what you have taken from the poor. ¹⁵You have no right to crush my people and take advantage of the poor. I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have spoken."

A Warning to the Women of Jerusalem

¹⁶The LORD said, "Look how proud the women of Jerusalem are! They walk along with their noses in the air. They are always flirting. They take dainty little steps, and the bracelets on their ankles jingle. ¹⁷But I will punish them--I will shave their heads and leave them bald."
¹⁸A day is coming when the Lord will take away from the women of Jerusalem everything they are so proud of--the ornaments they wear on their ankles, on their heads, on their necks, ¹⁹and on their wrists. He will take away their veils ²⁰and their hats; the magic charms they wear on their arms and at their waists; ²¹the rings they wear on their fingers and in their noses; ²²all their fine robes, gowns, cloaks, and purses; ²³their revealing garments, their linen handkerchiefs, and the scarves and long veils they wear on their heads.
²⁴Instead of using perfumes, they will stink; instead of fine belts, they will wear coarse ropes; instead of having beautiful hair, they will be bald; instead of fine clothes, they will be dressed in rags; their beauty will be turned to shame!
²⁵The men of the city, yes, even the strongest men, will be killed in war. ²⁶The city gates will mourn and cry, and the city itself will be like a woman sitting on the ground, stripped naked.
Isaiah 4 When that time comes, seven women will grab hold of one man and say, "We can feed and clothe ourselves, but please let us say you are our husband, so that we won't have to endure the shame of being unmarried."

Jerusalem Will Be Restored

²The time is coming when the LORD will make every plant and tree in the land grow large and beautiful. All the people of Israel who survive will take delight and pride in the crops that the land produces. ³Everyone who is left in Jerusalem, whom God has chosen for survival, will be called holy. ⁴By his power the Lord will judge and purify the nation and wash away the guilt of Jerusalem and the blood that has been shed there. ⁵Then over Mount Zion and over all who are gathered there, the LORD will send a cloud in the daytime and smoke and a bright flame at night. God's glory will cover and protect the whole city. ⁶His glory will shade the city from the heat of the day and make it a place of safety, sheltered from the rain and storm.

The Complaint of Someone in Trouble

Psalm 109 I praise you, God; don't remain silent!
²Wicked people and liars have attacked me.
They tell lies about me,
³and they say evil things about me,
attacking me for no reason.
⁴They oppose me, even though I love them
and have prayed for them.
⁵They pay me back evil for good
and hatred for love.

⁶Choose some corrupt judge to try my enemy,
and let one of his own enemies accuse him.
⁷May he be tried and found guilty;
may even his prayer be considered a crime!
⁸May his life soon be ended;
may someone else take his job!
⁹May his children become orphans,
and his wife a widow!
¹⁰May his children be homeless beggars;
may they be driven from the ruins they live in!
¹¹May his creditors take away all his property,
and may strangers get everything he worked for.
¹²May no one ever be kind to him
or care for the orphans he leaves behind.
¹³May all his descendants die,
and may his name be forgotten in the next generation.
¹⁴May the LORD remember the evil of his ancestors
and never forgive his mother's sins.
¹⁵May the LORD always remember their sins,
but may they themselves be completely forgotten!

¹⁶That man never thought of being kind;
he persecuted and killed
the poor, the needy, and the helpless.
¹⁷He loved to curse--may he be cursed!
He hated to give blessings--may no one bless him!
¹⁸He cursed as naturally as he dressed himself;
may his own curses soak into his body like water
and into his bones like oil!
¹⁹May they cover him like clothes
and always be around him like a belt!