¹And one of the seven messengers having the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying to me: Come here, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute who is sitting upon the many waters,

²with whom the kings of the land committed sexual immorality, and those dwelling on the land were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.

³And he carried me away into a wilderness in the Spirit. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet beast being full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

⁴And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and with precious stone and with pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand, being full of abominations and the unclean things of her sexual immorality.

⁵And upon her forehead a name written, a mystery: Great Babylon, the mother of the prostitutes and of the abominations of the land.

⁶And I saw the woman being drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And having seen her, I marveled with great wonder.

⁷And the messenger said to me: Because of why did you marvel? I myself will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast carrying her, who is having the seven heads and the ten horns.

⁸The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go into destruction. And those dwelling on the land will be astonished, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, seeing the beast that was and is not and yet it will exist.

⁹Here is the mind having wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, where the woman sits on them. And there are seven kings:

¹⁰the five are fallen, and the one is, the other has not yet come; and when he may have come, it behooves him to remain a little while.

¹¹And the beast which was and is not, also himself is an eighth and is of the seven, and goes into destruction.

¹²And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but receive authority as kings one hour along with the beast.

¹³These have one mind, and they give up their power and authority to the beast.

¹⁴These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.

¹⁵And he says to me: The waters that you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.

¹⁶And the ten horns that you saw and the beast, these will hate the prostitute, and they will make her desolated and they will make her naked, and they will eat her flesh, and they will burn her with fire.

¹⁷For God has put into their hearts to do his purpose and to do one purpose and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be completed.

¹⁸And the woman whom you saw is the great city which is having kingship over the kings of the land.