Revelation 16:12

Revelation 16:12 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

Context of Revelation 16:12

10Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness; and people gnawed their tongues because of the pain [of their excruciating anguish and severe torment], 11and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their anguish and their sores (abscesses, boils); and they did not repent of what they had done nor hate their wickedness. Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for [the coming of] the kings from the east. 13And I saw three loathsome spirits like frogs, leaping from the mouth of the dragon (Satan) and from the mouth of the beast (Antichrist, dictator) and from the mouth of the false prophet; 14for they are [actually] the spirits of demons, performing [miraculous] signs. And they go out to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

Revelation 16:12 word by word

Καὶ ὁ ἕκτος ἐξέχεεν τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν τὸν μέγαν τὸν Εὐφράτην, καὶ ἐξηράνθη τὸ ὕδωρ αὐτοῦ ἵνα ἑτοιμασθῇ ἡ ὁδὸς τῶν βασιλέων τῶν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῆς ἡλίου.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• theἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
• sixthἕκτοςhektos · sixthG1623
• poured outἐκχέωekcheō ekchunō · to pour outG1632
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• vialφιάληphialē · bowlG5357
• uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• theΕὐφράτηςEuphratēs · EuphratesG2166
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• riverποταμόςpotamos · riverG4215
• the waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
• was dried upξηραίνωxērainō · to dryG3583
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• the wayὁδόςhodos · roadG3598
• of the kingsβασιλεύςbasileus · kingG935
• ofἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the eastἀνατολήanatolē · eastG395
• ·ἥλιοςhēlios · sunG2246
• might be preparedἑτοιμάζωhetoimazō · to make readyG2090

Cross-references for Revelation 16:12

• Revelation 9:14saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
• Revelation 11:14The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
• Isaiah 8:7Now therefore, listen carefully, the Lord is about to bring on them the waters of the [Euphrates] River, strong and abundant— The king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise over all its channels and canals and go far beyond its banks.
• Revelation 17:15Then the angel said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.
• Isaiah 11:15And the Lord will utterly destroy The tongue of the Sea of Egypt; And with His scorching wind He will wave His hand over the River; He will strike and divide it into seven channels And make [it possible for] people [to] walk over in sandals.
• Isaiah 42:15I will lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.
• Isaiah 44:27It is I who says to the deep, ‘Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry.
• Jeremiah 50:38A drought on her waters, and they will dry up! For it is a land of [worthless] idols, And they are mad over fearsome idols [those objects of terror in which they foolishly trust].
• Jeremiah 51:36Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I will plead your case And take full vengeance for you; I will dry up her sea and great reservoir And make her fountain dry.
• Isaiah 41:2Who has stirred up and put into action one from the east [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great] Whom He calls in righteousness to His service and whom victory meets at every step? The Lord turns nations over to him And subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, Like wind-driven chaff with his bow.
• Ezekiel 38:1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
• Daniel 11:43He will have power over the treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Ethiopians will follow in his footsteps.

Commentaries on Revelation 16:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Upon the great river Euphrates - Probably meaning the people in the vicinity of this river; though some think that the Tiber is intended. The water thereof was dried up - The people discomfited, and all impediments removed. The kings of the east - There seems to be an allusion here to the ruin of Babylon by Cyrus, predicted by the Prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah 50:1-51:64. But what city or people is pointed out by this Babylon it is in vain to conjecture.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates - On the situation of that river, and the symbolical meaning of this language, see the notes on Revelation 9:14-21. The reference there was supposed to be to the Turkish power, and the analogy of interpretation would seem to require that it should be so understood here. There is every reason, therefore, to suppose that this passage has reference to something in the future history of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-16Verses 12-16 This probably shows the destruction of the Turkish power, and of idolatry, and that a way will be made for the return of the Jews. Or, take it for Rome, as mystical Babylon, the name of Babylon being put for Rome, which was meant, but was not then to be directly named. When Rome is destroyed, her river and merchandise must suffer with her. And perhaps a way will be opened for the eastern nations to come into the church of Christ. The great…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12The Euphrates, the largest river in Mesopotamia, lay between Babylon and Israel. It marked the eastern border of the Roman Empire. If it dried up, kings from the east could move their armies westward (compare Revelation 9:13–16). From John's perspective as an ancient Jewish writer, people would always associate these armies with Mesopotamia, not with countries farther east like China or India.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. angel--so Coptic and Andreas. A, B, C, Vulgate, and Syriac omit. kings of the east--Greek, "the kings who are from the rising of the sun." Reference to the Euphrates similarly occurs in the sixth trumpet. The drying up of the Euphrates, I think, is to be taken figuratively, as Babylon itself, which is situated on it, is undoubtedly so, Re 17:5. The waters of the Euphrates (compare Is 8:7, 8) are spiritual Babylon's, that is, the apostate Church's (of…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 16:12

• Animals
• Euphrates
• Temple
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Gnaw
• Vial
• Consecrate; Consecration
• Dayspring
• Dragon
• Hair
• Justification
• Print; Printing; Printed
• Retribution

Commentaries on Revelation 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings