And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the ^ajudgment of the great ^bwhore that sitteth upon many ^cwaters:

 2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the ^ainhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her ^bfornication.

 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of ^anames of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand ^afull of abominations and ^bfilthiness of her fornication:

 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, ^aMystery, ^bBabylon the Great, the ^cMother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.

 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the ^ablood of the saints, and with the blood of the ^bmartyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great ^cadmiration.

 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into ^aperdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the ^bbook of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.