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

14It used the authority of the first wild animal to do many miracles. In that way, it deceived the people who lived on the earth. It told them to make an image of the first wild animal. This was the animal that was still alive after a sword had given it a bad wound. 15The second wild animal received power to give life to the image of the first wild animal. As a result, the image could speak. It said, ‘Anyone who refuses to worship me must die!’ The second wild animal also caused everyone to receive a mark. Everyone received a mark on their right hand or on the front of their head. This included important people and ordinary people, rich people and poor people, free people and slaves. 17Nobody could buy anything unless they had this mark on them. Nor could they sell anything. This mark shows the wild animal's name or the number of its name. 18You must think carefully so that you can understand this number. Anyone who is wise should try to understand what the wild animal's number means. It is a human number. The 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

Words taken from the KJV.

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

Cross-references for Revelation 13:16

• Revelation 11:18The nations of the world were very angry. But now it is time for you to be angry with them. Now you will judge all the people who have died. You will give good things to your servants, the prophets, and to all your people. You will bless everyone who respects and obeys you, whether they are important people or not. But you will destroy all those people who destroy the earth. The time has now come for all this to happen.’
• Revelation 19:5Then a voice spoke from the throne. It said, ‘All of you who are God's servants, praise our God! All of you who respect God's power, worship him! Important people and ordinary people should worship him!’
• Revelation 20:12I also saw the people who had died, important people and ordinary people. They were standing in front of the great throne. Then someone opened books to see what was in them. God had written in them all the things that the people had done. Then someone opened another book which is God's book of life. God judged the people who had died. He looked in the books to see what they had done, and he decided what was right.
• 2 Chronicles 15:13If anyone refused to worship the Lord, Israel's God, they would punish that person with death. They agreed to do that, whoever the person was, young or old, male or female.
• Psalms 115:13He will bless everybody who serves him, whether they are important people or not.
• Acts 26:22But God has helped me every day, even until today. So now I stand here and I can tell you what is true. I say the same thing to people who are very important and to people who are not important. I am telling you the same things that Moses and God's other prophets wrote about. They also said that these things would happen.
• Job 34:19God created everyone. He is not more kind to important people than he is to other people. He does not help rich people more than he helps poor people.
• Psalms 49:2All people must listen, whoever you are, whether you are rich people or poor people.
• Revelation 6:15Then everyone on the earth hid themselves. They went to the mountains and they hid among the rocks and in holes in the rocks. Everyone tried to hide, even the kings and the rulers. The soldiers' leaders, the rich people and other powerful people all went to hide. Everyone hid, whether they were slaves or free people.
• Revelation 19:18Eat the meat from the dead bodies of God's enemies! Come and eat the meat of kings, the meat of army captains and the meat of powerful men. Eat the meat of dead horses and the soldiers who ride them. Eat the meat of all kinds of people: slaves and free people, important people and ordinary people.’
• 1 Corinthians 12:13When they baptized us, we all became parts of one body. It was the one Spirit who brought us together. It made no difference whether we were Jews or Gentiles. It made no difference whether we were slaves or free people. God poured his one Spirit into all of us.
• Galatians 3:28It does not matter whether you are a Jew or a Gentile. It does not matter whether you are a slave or a free person. It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman. You all belong together because you all belong to Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 6:8You know that anyone who does some good thing will receive a good gift from the Lord. This will happen whether that person is a slave or a free person.
• Colossians 3:11People have this new nature only because they belong to Christ. That is the important thing. Jews are not different from Gentiles. It does not matter whether someone has circumcised you or not. It does not matter which country you come from or how clever you are. It does not matter whether you are a slave or a free person. Christ is all that matters. He lives in every believer.
• Revelation 14:9A third angel followed the other two angels. He said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the wild animal and its idol, God will punish them. If anyone receives that animal's mark on their head or on their hand, God will punish them.
• Revelation 15:2Then I saw what seemed to be a glass sea. Fire was mixed in it. I also saw people who were standing at the edge of the glass sea. Those people had fought against the wild animal and they had won. They had won against its image and the number that means its name. They had fought and they had won. God had given them harps. They held the harps to make music.

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