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:
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.

Context of Revelation 13:16

14Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 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, 17so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. 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

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 were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
• Revelation 19:5Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!”
• Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
• 2 Chronicles 15:13All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.
• Psalms 115:13he will bless those who fear the Lord— small and great alike.
• Acts 26:22But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen—
• Job 34:19who shows no partiality to princes and does not favor the rich over the 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 princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
• Revelation 19:18so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:13For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
• Galatians 3:28There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 6:8because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
• Colossians 3:11Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
• Revelation 14:9A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand,
• Revelation 15:2And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by 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