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Apocalyptic · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Revelation 16

Visions unveil the Lamb's victory, faithful witness, judgment, and renewed creation.

New Testament

Revelation 16

1I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!”

2The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and painful sore on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image.

3The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.

4The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

5I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are righteous, who are and who were, O Holy One, because you have judged these things.

6For they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.”

7I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”

8The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire.

9People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They didn’t repent and give him glory.

10The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain,

11and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They still didn’t repent of their works.

12The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings that come from the sunrise.

13I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, something like frogs;

14for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God the Almighty.

15“Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.”

16He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, “Harmagedon”.

17The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

18There were lightnings, sounds, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake such as has not happened since there were men on the earth—so great an earthquake and so mighty.

19The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

20Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague was exceedingly severe.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Visions unveil the Lamb's victory, faithful witness, judgment, and renewed creation. Read Revelation 16 within the complete Revelation overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Revelation 16

Revelation 16 contains 21 verses and about 524 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!”” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 21 closes: “Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague was…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include poured, great, bowl, people, saying, earth. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Revelation 16

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Revelation 16:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer