Revelation 16:4

Revelation 16:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
• New International Version (NIV)The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

Context of Revelation 16:4

2So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and loathsome and malignant sores came on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. 3The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a corpse [foul and disgusting]; and every living thing in the sea died. Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water; and they turned into blood. 5And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous and just are You, Who are and Who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; 6for they have poured out the blood of the saints (God’s people) and the prophets, and You [in turn] have given them blood to drink. They deserve Your judgment.”

Revelation 16:4 word by word

Καὶ ὁ τρίτος ἐξέχεεν τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς ποταμοὺς καὶ τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων, καὶ ἐγένετο αἷμα.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the thirdτρίτοςtritos · thirdG5154
• angelἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
• poured outἐκχέωekcheō ekchunō · to pour outG1632
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• vialφιάληphialē · bowlG5357
• uponεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the riversποταμόςpotamos · riverG4215
• fountainsπηγήpēgē · flowG4077
• of watersὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
• they becameγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• bloodαἷμαaima · bloodG129

Cross-references for Revelation 16:4

• Revelation 8:10The third angel sounded [his trumpet], and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch [flashing across the sky], and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of [fresh] waters.
• Revelation 16:5And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous and just are You, Who are and Who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things;
• Revelation 14:7and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God [with awe and reverence], and give Him glory [and honor and praise in worship], because the hour of His judgment has come; [with all your heart] worship Him who created the heaven and the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
• Exodus 7:20So Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded; Aaron lifted up the staff and struck the waters in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood.
• Exodus 8:5Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and canals, over the pools [among the reeds], and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”
• Isaiah 50:2Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]? Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; Their fish stink because there is no water And die of thirst.
• Ezekiel 35:8I will fill its mountains with its slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, and in your valleys, and in all your ravines.
• Hosea 13:15For though he flourishes among the reeds (his fellow tribes), An east wind (Assyria) will come, The breath of the Lord rising from the desert; And Ephraim’s spring will become dry And his fountain will be dried up. Assyria will plunder his treasury of every precious object.

Commentaries on Revelation 16:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Upon the rivers and fountains of waters - This is an allusion to the first Egyptian plague, Exodus 7:20; and to those plagues in general there are allusions throughout this chapter. It is a sentiment of the rabbins that "whatever plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians in former times, he will inflict on the enemies of his people in all later times." See a long quotation on this subject from Rabbi Tanchum in Schoettgen.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters - This coincides also with the account of the sounding of the third trumpet Revelation 8:10-11; “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters.” As to the meaning of the phrase, “rivers and fountains of waters,” see the notes on that passage. We found, it…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4The plagues of the second and third bowls are similar to the first plague of Egypt (Exodus 7:17–21). John may have thought about how much of Rome’s food and wealth came from the sea. After Julius Caesar cleared the sea of pirates, shipping became vital for Rome. Its end would mean economic collapse for the empire (see Revelation 18:17–19).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. (Ex 7:20.) angel--so Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas. But A, B, C, and Vulgate omit it.Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 16:4

• Temple
• Water
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Gnaw
• Vial
• Dragon
• Justification
• Liers-in-Wait
• Marriage
• Names, Proper
• 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