New Living Translation
Revelation 8:11
11The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- 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.
Context of Revelation 8:11
9one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed. 10Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water. 12Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night. 13Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”
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 29:18I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous fruit.
- Ruth 1:20“Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.
- Proverbs 5:4But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword.
- Jeremiah 9:15So now, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.
- Jeremiah 23:15Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. For it is because of Jerusalem’s prophets that wickedness has filled this land.”
- Lamentations 3:5He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.
- Amos 5:7You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt.
- Amos 6:12Can horses gallop over boulders? Can oxen be used to plow them? But that’s how foolish you are when you turn justice into poison and the sweet fruit of righteousness into bitterness.
- Hebrews 12:15Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
- Exodus 15:23When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).
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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