American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in unto her.
And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, {Or, When (or, Before) the morning is light}Let be till morning light, then we will kill him.
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem.
And it came to pass at eventide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned unto her house.
And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
And Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
But his father and his mother knew not that it was of Jehovah; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnah, and came to the vineyards of Timnah: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid; and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
And he went down, and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well.
And after a while he returned to take her; and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.
And he took it into his hands, and went on, eating as he went; and he came to his father and mother, and gave unto them, and they did eat: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the body of the lion.
And his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.
And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.
And Samson said unto them, Let me now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can declare it unto me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment;
but if ye cannot declare it unto me, then shall ye give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of raiment. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.
And he said unto them,Out of the eater came forth food,And out of the strong came forth sweetness.And they could not in three days declare the riddle.
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to {Or, take that which we have}impoverish us? is it not so?
And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell thee?
And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him sore; and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them,If ye had not plowed with my heifer,Ye had not found out my riddle.
And the Spirit of Jehovah came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and smote thirty men of them, and took their {Or, apparel}spoil, and gave the changes of raiment unto them that declared the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.
But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters;
For I am jealous over you with {Greek: a jealously of God.}a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your {Greek: thoughts. See chapter 3:14.}minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ.
And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters;
with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication.
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, {Or, names full of blasphemy}full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and {Greek: gilded.}decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, {Or, and of the unclean things}even the unclean things of her fornication,
and upon her forehead a name written, {Or, a mystery, Babylon the Great}MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the {Or, witnesses See chapter 2:13}martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.
And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, {Some ancient authorities read and he goeth.}and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written {Greek: on.}in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and {Greek: shall be present.}shall come.
Here is the {Or, meaning}mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth:
and {Or, there are}they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while.
And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition.
And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.
These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast.
These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful.
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
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 utterly with fire.
For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.
And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which {Greek: hath a kingdom.}reigneth over the kings of the earth.
After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a {Or, prison}hold of every unclean spirit, and a {Or, prison}hold of every unclean and hateful bird.
For {Some authorities read of the wine…have drunk.}by {Some ancient authorities omit the wine of.}the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her {Or, luxury}wantonness.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues:
for her sins {Or, clave together}have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double.
How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed {Or, luxurious}wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning.
Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is {Some ancient authorities omit the Lord.}the Lord God who judged her.
And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived {Or, luxuriously}wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning,
standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their {Greek: cargo.}merchandise any more;
{Greek: cargo.}merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble;
and cinnamon, and {Greek: amomum.}spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and chariots and {Greek: bodies. Genesis 36:6 (Septuagint Version)}slaves; and {Or, lives}souls of men.
And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all.
The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;
saying, Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and {Greek: gilded.}decked with gold and precious stone and pearl!
for in one hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any whither, and mariners, and as many as {Greek: work the sea.}gain their living by sea, stood afar off,
and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city?
And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.
And {Greek: one.}a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.
And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, {Some ancient authorities omit of whatsoever craft.}of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee;
and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.
And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: