American Standard Version
Revelation 16:12
12And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising.
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
10And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works. And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising. 13And I saw 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, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: 14for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
Read all of Revelation 16Revelation 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
Cross-references for Revelation 16:12
- Revelation 9:14one saying to the sixth angel that had the trumpet, Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates.
- Revelation 11:14The second Woe is past: behold, the third Woe cometh quickly.
- Isaiah 8:7now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks;
- Revelation 17:15And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
- Isaiah 11:15And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod.
- Isaiah 42:15I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools.
- Isaiah 44:27that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers;
- Jeremiah 50:38A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over idols.
- Jeremiah 51:36Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry.
- Isaiah 41:2Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow.
- Ezekiel 38:1And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
- Daniel 11:43But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
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
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries