The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple(A) saying to the seven angels,(B) “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”(C)

The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land,(D) and ugly, festering sores(E) broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.(F)

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.(G)

The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water,(H) and they became blood.(I) Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:

“You are just in these judgments,(J) O Holy One,(K)
    you who are and who were;(L)
for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,(M)
    and you have given them blood to drink(N) as they deserve.”

And I heard the altar(O) respond:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,(P)
    true and just are your judgments.”(Q)

The fourth angel(R) poured out his bowl on the sun,(S) and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire.(T) They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God,(U) who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent(V) and glorify him.(W)

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast,(X) and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.(Y) People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed(Z) the God of heaven(AA) because of their pains and their sores,(AB) but they refused to repent of what they had done.(AC)

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,(AD) and its water was dried up to prepare the way(AE) for the kings from the East.(AF) 13 Then I saw three impure spirits(AG) that looked like frogs;(AH) they came out of the mouth of the dragon,(AI) out of the mouth of the beast(AJ) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(AK) 14 They are demonic spirits(AL) that perform signs,(AM) and they go out to the kings of the whole world,(AN) to gather them for the battle(AO) on the great day(AP) of God Almighty.

15 “Look, I come like a thief!(AQ) Blessed is the one who stays awake(AR) and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”(AS)

16 Then they gathered the kings together(AT) to the place that in Hebrew(AU) is called Armageddon.(AV)

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air,(AW) and out of the temple(AX) came a loud voice(AY) from the throne, saying, “It is done!”(AZ) 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder(BA) and a severe earthquake.(BB) No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth,(BC) so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city(BD) split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered(BE) Babylon the Great(BF) and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.(BG) 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.(BH) 21 From the sky huge hailstones,(BI) each weighing about a hundred pounds,[a] fell on people. And they cursed God(BJ) on account of the plague of hail,(BK) because the plague was so terrible.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 16:21 Or about 45 kilograms

The Seven Bowls of God’s Great Anger

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple speaking to the seven angels. “Go,” it said. “Pour out the seven bowls of God’s great anger on the earth.”

The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land. Ugly and painful sores broke out on people. Those people had the mark of the beast and worshiped its statue.

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. It turned into blood like the blood of a dead person. Every living thing in the sea died.

The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water. They became blood. Then I heard the angel who was in charge of the waters. He said,

“Holy One, the way you judge is fair.
    You are the God who is and who was.
Those who worship the beast have poured out blood.
    They have poured out the life’s blood of your holy people and your prophets.
So you have given blood to drink to those who worship the beast.
    That’s exactly what they should get.”

Then I heard the altar reply. It said,

“Lord God who rules over all,
    the way you judge is true and fair.”

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. The sun was allowed to burn people with fire. They were burned by the blazing heat. So they spoke evil things against the name of God, who controlled these plagues. But they refused to turn away from their sins. They did not give glory to God.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. The kingdom of the beast became very dark. People chewed on their tongues because they were suffering so much. 11 They spoke evil things against the God of heaven. They did this because of their pains and their sores. But they refused to turn away from the sins they had committed.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. Its water dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. 14 They are spirits of demons that perform signs. They go out to gather the kings of the whole world for battle. This battle will take place on the great day of the God who rules over all.

15 “Look! I am coming like a thief! Blessed is anyone who stays awake and keeps their clothes on. Then they will be ready. They will not be caught naked and so be put to shame.”

16 Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together. In the Hebrew language, the place where the kings met is called Armageddon.

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne. It said, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, thunder and a powerful earthquake. There has never been an earthquake as terrible as this. One like this hasn’t happened while human beings have lived on earth. 19 The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations crumbled and fell. God remembered Babylon the Great. He gave Babylon the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger. 20 Every island ran away. The mountains could not be found. 21 Huge hailstones weighing about 100 pounds each fell from the sky. The hail crushed people. And they spoke evil things against God because of the plague. That’s because the plague of hail was so terrible.

Chapter 16

The Seven Bowls of the Wrath of God.[a] Then I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, “Go forth and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

The first angel went forth and poured out his bowl on the earth. Immediately, foul and malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.[b]

[c]The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. It turned to blood, like the blood of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned to blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:

“You are just, O Holy One,
    who are and who were,
    in these your judgments.
For they have shed the blood
    of the saints and the Prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink,
    as they deserve.”

And I heard the altar respond:

“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
    true and just are your judgments.”

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to burn people with its flames. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had the power to inflict those plagues, but they refused to repent and pay him homage.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.[d] People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, instead of repenting for what they had done.

12 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 from the East. 13 I saw three unclean spirits like frogs[e] come forth from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.

14 These are demonic spirits with the power to work miracles. They were sent to the kings of the entire world to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

15 [f]“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes close by so that he will not have to go naked and be exposed to shame.” 16 These spirits then assembled the kings at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.[g]

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there followed flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake—so violent that there has never been one like it since the human race has inhabited the earth.

19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed in ruin. Babylon the Great was also remembered by God, as he made her drink the cup filled with the wine of his fury and wrath. 20 Every island vanished, and no mountains were to be found. 21 Huge hailstones, each weighing about one hundred pounds, fell from the sky on the people, and they cursed God on account of the plague of hail that turned out to be so terrible.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 16:1 The story of the plagues in Egypt (Ex 7–12) remained deeply inscribed in the imagination of the Jews; once again, as in chapters 8–10 (vision of the trumpets), that story here inspires the description of the final cataclysm of the universe and of the lives of its peoples and nations. The desolating picture shows all the hostile forces united at Armageddon (the Megiddo of the Bible, where King Josiah died with his troops); it became a place of sinister memory, and an omen and symbol of military defeat and even annihilation (see 2 Ki 23:29-30; Zec 12:11). The great city Babylon, i.e., Rome, is collapsing.
  2. Revelation 16:2 Similar to the sixth plague of Egypt (see Ex 9:8-11).
  3. Revelation 16:3 Similar to the first plague of Egypt (see Ex 7:20f).
  4. Revelation 16:10 Similar to the ninth plague of Egypt (see Ex 10:21-23).
  5. Revelation 16:13 Frogs: an allusion to the second plague of Egypt (see Ex 7:26—8:11).
  6. Revelation 16:15 This verse interrupts the text. It fits in better in the literary atmosphere of the letters to the Churches, especially Rev 3:3-4, 18. Blessed: the third beatitude (see note on Rev 1:3).
  7. Revelation 16:16 Armageddon: i.e., the “mountain of Megiddo,” the site of many battles in antiquity (see Jdg 5:19f; 2 Ki 9:27; 2 Chr 35:20-24); it symbolized the final defeat of the powers of evil.