New International Version
Revelation 8:11
11the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
Revelation 8:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.
Context of Revelation 8:11
9a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 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— the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. 12The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. 13As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
Read all of Revelation 8Revelation 8:11 word by word
καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἀστέρος λέγεται ὁ Ἄψινθος· καὶ ἐγένετο τὸ τρίτον τῶν ὑδάτων εἰς ἄψινθον, καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀπέθανον ἐκ τῶν ὑδάτων ὅτι ἐπικράνθησαν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- the nameὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the nameὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
- of the starἀστήρastēr · starG792
- is calledλέγωlegō · to say: callG3004
- Wormwoodἄψινθοςapsinthos · wormwoodG894
- the third partτρίτοςtritos · thirdG5154
- of the watersὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
- becameγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- wormwoodεἰςeis · towardG1519
- manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
- menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- diedἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
- ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- they were made bitterπικραίνωpikrainō · to embitterG4087
Cross-references for Revelation 8:11
- Deuteronomy 29:18Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.
- Ruth 1:20“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.
- Proverbs 5:4but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
- Jeremiah 9:15Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water.
- Jeremiah 23:15Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: “I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
- Lamentations 3:5He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
- Amos 5:7There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground.
- Amos 6:12Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—
- Hebrews 12:15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Exodus 15:23When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)
Commentaries on Revelation 8:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11The star is called Wormwood - So called from the bitter or distressing effects produced by its influence.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11And the name of the star is called Wormwood - Is appropriately so called. The writer does not say that it would be actually so called, but that this name would be properly descriptive of its qualities. Such expressions are common in allegorical writings. The Greek word - ̓́ apsinthos- denotes “wormwood,” a well-known bitter herb. That word becomes the proper emblem of bitterness. Compare Jeremiah 9:15; Jeremiah 23:15; Lamentations 3:15, Lamentations 3:19…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 The first angel sounded the first trumpet, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood. A storm of heresies, a mixture of dreadful errors falling on the church, or a tempest of destruction. The second angel sounded, and a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood. By this mountain some understand leaders of the persecutions; others, Rome sacked by the Goths and Vandals, with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-11The star named Wormwood (a shrubby plant that produces a bitter extract) is symbolic, not physical. Bitter water is linked to judgment from early in Israel’s history (Exodus 15:22–26; Numbers 5:18; Jeremiah 9:13–16; 23:15). The message is that widespread judgment has started.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. The symbolizers interpret the star fallen from heaven as a chief minister (Arius, according to Bullinger, Bengel, and others; or some future false teacher, if, as is more likely, the event be still future) falling from his high place in the Church, and instead of shining with heavenly light as a star, becoming a torch lit with earthly fire and smouldering with smoke. And "wormwood," though medicinal in some cases, if used as ordinary water would not…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 8:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 8
- 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
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