Revelation 13:16

Revelation 13:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
• New International Version (NIV)It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
• New King James Version (NKJV)He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,

Context of Revelation 13:16

14Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived. 15The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to be killed. And the second beast required all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.

Revelation 13:16 word by word

καὶ ποιεῖ πάντας, τοὺς μικροὺς καὶ τοὺς μεγάλους καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους καὶ τοὺς πτωχοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἐλευθέρους καὶ τοὺς δούλους, ἵνα δῶσιν αὐτοῖς χάραγμα ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν τῆς δεξιᾶς ἢ ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον αὐτῶν,Read the interlinear

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• requiredποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• smallμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• richπλούσιοςplousios · richG4145
• poorπτωχόςptōchos · poorG4434
• freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658
• slaveδοῦλοςdoulos · slaveG1401
• toἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• receiveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• ·αὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• a markχάραγμαcharagma · image/markG5480
• onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• rightδεξιόςdexios · rightG1188
• handχείρcheir · handG5495
• orἤē · orG2228
• foreheadμέτωπονmetopon · foreheadG3359

Cross-references for Revelation 13:16

• Revelation 11:18The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great— and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
• Revelation 19:5Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you who serve Him, and those who fear Him, small and great alike!”
• Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.
• 2 Chronicles 15:13And whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.
• Psalms 115:13He will bless those who fear the LORD— small and great alike.
• Acts 26:22But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
• Job 34:19who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
• Psalms 49:2both low and high, rich and poor alike.
• Revelation 6:15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
• Revelation 19:18so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
• Galatians 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 6:8because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
• Colossians 3:11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
• Revelation 14:9And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand,
• Revelation 15:2And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, beside which stood those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. They were holding harps from God,

Commentaries on Revelation 13:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark - To ascertain the meaning of the mark which the two-horned beast causes all orders and degrees of men in the Latin world to receive, we need only refer to Revelation 14:11, where the mark imposed by the two-horned beast is called the mark of his name. The name of the beast is the Latin empire: the mark of his name must therefore be his Latin worship: for this very…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16And he caused all - He claims jurisdiction, in the matters here referred to, over all classes of persons, and compels them to do his will. This is the second beast, and, according to the interpretation given above, it relates to the papal power, and to its claim of universal jurisdiction. Both small and great - All these expressions are designed to denote universality - referring to various divisions into which the human family may be regarded as divided…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-18Verses 11-18 Those who understand the first beast to denote a worldly power, take the second to be also a persecuting and assumed power, which acts under the disguise of religion, and of charity to the souls of men. It is a spiritual dominion, professing to be derived from Christ, and exercised at first in a gentle manner, but soon spake like the dragon. Its speech betrayed it; for it gives forth those false doctrines and cruel decrees, which show it to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-17small and great, rich and poor, free and slave: Everyone must accept the beast's evil mark of ownership (see Revelation 14:9, 11; 19:20; 20:4). This mark is needed to buy or sell. The text does not clearly describe what the mark is or how it looks. On the right hand or forehead suggests the branding of slaves, showing the beast owns them. the name of the beast or the number of its name: In both Hebrew and Greek, letters of the alphabet stand for numbers…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. to receive a mark--literally, "that they should give them a mark"; such a brand as masters stamp on their slaves, and monarchs on their subjects. Soldiers voluntarily punctured their arms with marks of the general under whom they served. Votaries of idols branded themselves with the idol's cipher or symbol. Thus Antiochus Epiphanes branded the Jews with the ivy leaf, the symbol of Bacchus (2 Maccabees 6:7; 3 Maccabees 2:29). Contrast God's seal and…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 13:16

• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Forehead
• Deuteronomy
• Dragon
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Literature, Sub-Apostolic
• Mark
• Nero
• Print; Printing; Printed
• Revelation of John
• Alpha

Commentaries on Revelation 13

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings