Hide Me from the Wicked
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my voice, O God, in my mcomplaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from nthe secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
3 who owhet their tongues like swords,
who paim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from qambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and rwithout fear.
5 They shold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of tlaying snares secretly,
thinking, u“Who can see them?”
6 They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
For vthe inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
7 wBut God shoots his arrow at them;
they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own xtongues turned against them;
all who ysee them will zwag their heads.
9 Then all mankind yfears;
they atell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.
10 Let bthe righteous one rejoice in the Lord
and ctake refuge in him!
Let all dthe upright in heart exult!
The Fall of Babylon
1 After this I saw nanother angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and othe earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,
p“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
She has become qa dwelling place for demons,
a haunt rfor every unclean spirit,
a haunt sfor every unclean bird,
a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
3 For all nations have drunk1
tthe wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,
and uthe kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,
and vthe merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,
w“Come out of her, my people,
lest you take part in her sins,
lest you share in her plagues;
5 for xher sins are heaped high as heaven,
and yGod has remembered her iniquities.
6 zPay her back as she herself has paid back others,
and repay her adouble for her deeds;
mix a double portion for her bin the cup she mixed.
7 cAs she glorified herself and lived in luxury,
so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,
since in her heart she says,
d‘I sit as a queen,
I am no widow,
and mourning I shall never see.’
8 For this reason her plagues will come ein a single day,
death and mourning and famine,
and fshe will be burned up with fire;
for gmighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
9 And hthe kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, iwill weep and wail over her jwhen they see the smoke of her burning. 10 kThey will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,
“Alas! Alas! lYou great city,
you mighty city, Babylon!
For min a single hour your judgment has come.”
11 And nthe merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo 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, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.2
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 oThe merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, pwill stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,
16 “Alas, alas, for the great city
qthat was clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
17 For rin a single hour all this wealth shas been laid waste.”
And tall shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and ucried out vas they saw the smoke of her burning,
w“What city was like the great city?”
19 And they threw xdust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,
“Alas, alas, for the great city
ywhere all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For zin a single hour she has been laid waste.
20 aRejoice over her, O heaven,
and you saints and bapostles and prophets,
for cGod has given judgment for you against her!”
21 Then da mighty angel etook up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
“So will Babylon fthe great city be thrown down with violence,
and will be found no more;
22 and gthe 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 hthe sound of the mill
will be heard in you no more,
23 and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more,
and ithe voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more,
for jyour merchants were the great ones of the earth,
and all nations were deceived kby your sorcery.
24 And lin her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of mall who have been slain on earth.”
