1And I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels: "Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth." [16:2] And the first departed and poured out his bowl into the earth, and there came a foul and grievous ulcer upon the people — those having the mark of the beast and those worshiping its image. [16:3] And the second poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood as of one dead, and every soul of living creatures died — those in the sea. [16:4] And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and into the springs of the waters, and they became blood — they became blood. [16:5] And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "Righteous are you, the one who is and who was, the Holy One, because you have judged these things; [16:6] because they poured out the blood of saints and of prophets, and blood you have given them to drink — worthy they are." [16:7] And I heard the altar saying: "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments." [16:8] And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun, and there was given to it to scorch the people with fire. [16:9] And the people were scorched with great heat, and they denigrated the name of God who has authority over these plagues, and they did not repent to give him glory. [16:10] And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and its kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed their tongues from the agony, [16:11] and they denigrated the God of heaven because of their pains and because of their ulcers, and they did not repent of their works. [16:12] And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates, and its water dried up so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared. [16:13] And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. [16:14] For they are spirits of demons performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth to gather them for the battle of the great day of God the Almighty. [16:15] "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is the one staying awake and keeping his garments, so that he does not walk naked and they see his shame." [16:16] And they gathered them to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
REV 16:1-16
The First Six Bowls of Wrath
In the world it was spoken into
In the first-century Greco-Roman world, the imagery of pouring out bowls would evoke ritual libations, a common practice in both pagan and Jewish contexts. Libations were offerings to deities, often poured from bowls as acts of worship or supplication. Here, the bowls contain 'the wrath of God,' a stark inversion of this familiar ritual, signaling divine judgment rather than appeasement. The 'sore harm' described would resonate with listeners familiar with plagues and diseases, which were often seen as divine retribution. The 'mark of the beast' contrasts sharply with Jewish and early Christian symbols of allegiance, such as circumcision or baptism, pointing to a cosmic conflict between divine and demonic loyalties. The transformation of the sea into 'blood as of one dead' recalls the Exodus plagues, a narrative deeply embedded in Jewish memory, while the destruction of living creatures underscores the totality of this judgment. The blasphemy of those suffering reflects a defiant rejection of divine authority, a theme familiar in apocalyptic literature.
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How other translations render this
REV 16:1
- KJV
- And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
- BSB
- Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of Godʼs wrath.”
- Koinōnos
- And I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels: "Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth.
REV 16:2
- KJV
- And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
- BSB
- So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
- Koinōnos
- And the first departed and poured out his bowl into the earth, and there came a foul and grievous ulcer upon the people — those having the mark of the beast and those worshiping its image.
REV 16:3
- KJV
- And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
- BSB
- And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.
- Koinōnos
- And the second poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood as of one dead, and every soul of living creatures died — those in the sea.
REV 16:4
- KJV
- And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
- BSB
- And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood.
- Koinōnos
- And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and into the springs of the waters, and they became blood — they became blood.
REV 16:5
- KJV
- And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
- BSB
- And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.
- Koinōnos
- And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "Righteous are you, the one who is and who was, the Holy One, because you have judged these things;
REV 16:6
- KJV
- For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
- BSB
- For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Koinōnos
- because they poured out the blood of saints and of prophets, and blood you have given them to drink — worthy they are.
REV 16:7
- KJV
- And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
- BSB
- And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.”
- Koinōnos
- And I heard the altar saying: "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.
REV 16:8
- KJV
- And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
- BSB
- Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given power to scorch the people with fire.
- Koinōnos
- And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun, and there was given to it to scorch the people with fire.
REV 16:9
- KJV
- And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
- BSB
- And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues. Yet they did not repent and give Him glory.
- Koinōnos
- And the people were scorched with great heat, and they denigrated the name of God who has authority over these plagues, and they did not repent to give him glory.
REV 16:10
- KJV
- And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
- BSB
- And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish
- Koinōnos
- And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and its kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed their tongues from the agony,
REV 16:11
- KJV
- And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
- BSB
- and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores. Yet they did not repent of their deeds.
- Koinōnos
- and they denigrated the God of heaven because of their pains and because of their ulcers, and they did not repent of their works.
REV 16:12
- KJV
- And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
- BSB
- And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.
- Koinōnos
- And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates, and its water dried up so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared.
REV 16:13
- KJV
- And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
- BSB
- And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
- Koinōnos
- And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
REV 16:14
- KJV
- For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
- BSB
- These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
- Koinōnos
- For they are spirits of demons performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth to gather them for the battle of the great day of God the Almighty.
REV 16:15
- KJV
- Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
- BSB
- “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
- Koinōnos
- Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is the one staying awake and keeping his garments, so that he does not walk naked and they see his shame.
REV 16:16
- KJV
- And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
- BSB
- And they assembled the kings in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
- Koinōnos
- And they gathered them to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Only verses where the wording diverges meaningfully are shown. Identical phrasings are suppressed.
Translator's notes
REV 16:1
- bowls:The word translated 'bowls' here refers to a shallow dish or saucer, not a deep, rounded bowl. This imagery suggests the contents are poured out quickly and completely.
REV 16:2
- a sore:The term used here for 'sore' specifically denotes a festering wound or ulcer, often associated with a plague or a venomous bite, indicating a severe and painful affliction.
REV 16:9
- they denigrated:The word translated 'they denigrated' carries the sense of speaking profanely or impiously, particularly against sacred things or divine beings, often with an intent to insult or revile.
REV 16:10
- and:The word translated 'and' is actually a verb meaning 'to gnaw' or 'to chew'. This suggests a vivid image of people gnawing their tongues in agony, not merely a conjunction.