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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood.

Context of Revelation 16:4

2The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died. The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; 6for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”

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, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—
• Revelation 16:5Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were;
• Revelation 14:7He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
• Exodus 7:20Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.
• Exodus 8:5Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’ ”
• Isaiah 50:2When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
• Ezekiel 35:8I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines.
• Hosea 13:15even though he thrives among his brothers. An east wind from the Lord will come, blowing in from the desert; his spring will fail and his well dry up. His storehouse will be plundered of all its treasures.

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