But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to leave his wife.

But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not leave her.

Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not leave her husband.

and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband.

A wife is bound as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants—only in the Lord.

But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since that is one and the same as having her head shaved.

So if a woman’s head is not covered, her hair should be cut off. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should be covered.

This is why a woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her as a covering.

Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

But what does the Scripture say?

Drive out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave will never be a coheir with the son of the free woman.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her

to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.

To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

He is with Onesimus, a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

Give my greetings to the brothers in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home.

Although we could have been a burden as Christ’s apostles, instead we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother nurtures her own children.

The real widow, left all alone, has put her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers;

Again, I will trust in Him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me.

For we do not have an enduring city here; instead, we seek the one to come.

If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor man, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,”

just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You have become her children when you do what is good and are not frightened by anything alarming.

The Elder:

To the elect lady and her children: I love all of you in the truth—and not only I, but also all who have come to know the truth—

I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality.

Look! I will throw her into a sickbed and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her practices.

I will kill her children with the plague. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who examines minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head.

His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child.

But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd all nations with an iron scepter—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was fed for a time, times, and half a time.

From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away in a torrent.

So the dragon was furious with the woman and left to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and have the testimony about Jesus.

If anyone is destined for captivity,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.

This demands the perseverance and faith of the saints.

Here is wisdom: The one who has understanding must calculate the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man. His number is 666.

A second angel followed, saying: “It has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, who made all nations drink the wine of her sexual immorality, which brings wrath.”

This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.”

The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s presence; He gave her the cup filled with the wine of His fierce anger.

The kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and those who live on the earth became drunk on the wine of her sexual immorality.”

The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She had a gold cup in her hand filled with everything vile and with the impurities of her prostitution.

On her forehead a cryptic name was written:

BABYLON THE GREAT

THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

AND OF THE VILE THINGS OF THE EARTH.

Then I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the saints and on the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

Then the angel said to me, “Why are you astonished? I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast, with the seven heads and the 10 horns, that carries her.

“Here is the mind with wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated.

The 10 horns you saw, and the beast, will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, devour her flesh, and burn her up with fire.

For all the nations have drunk
the wine of her sexual immorality,
which brings wrath.
The kings of the earth
have committed sexual immorality with her,
and the merchants of the earth
have grown wealthy from her excessive luxury.

Then I heard another voice from heaven:

Come out of her, My people,
so that you will not share in her sins
or receive any of her plagues.

For her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes.

Pay her back the way she also paid,
and double it according to her works.
In the cup in which she mixed,
mix a double portion for her.

As much as she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
give her that much torment and grief,
for she says in her heart,
“I sit as a queen;
I am not a widow,
and I will never see grief.”

For this reason her plagues will come in one day—
death and grief and famine.
She will be burned up with fire,
because the Lord God who judges her is mighty.

The kings of the earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived luxuriously with her will weep and mourn over her when they see the smoke of her burning.

They will stand far off in fear of her torment, saying:

Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in a single hour
your judgment has come.

The merchants of the earth will also weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any longer—

The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand far off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,

as they watched the smoke from her burning and kept crying out: “Who is like the great city?”

They threw dust on their heads and kept crying out, weeping, and mourning:

Woe, woe, the great city,
where all those who have ships on the sea
became rich from her wealth,
for in a single hour she was destroyed.

Rejoice over her, heaven,
and you saints, apostles, and prophets,
because God has executed your judgment on her!

because His judgments are true and righteous,
because He has judged the notorious prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality;
and He has avenged the blood of His slaves
that was on her hands.

A second time they said:

Hallelujah!
Her smoke ascends forever and ever!

I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a very precious stone, like a jasper stone, bright as crystal.