Revelation 16

1 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!”

2 The 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.

3 The 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.

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

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

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

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

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

9 People 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.

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

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

12 The 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.

13 I 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;

14 for 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.”

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

17 The 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!”

18 There 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.

19 The 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.

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

21 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 exceedingly severe.

Around Revelation 16

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Revelation 16 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

A loud voice from the temple tells the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!” The first bowl brings painful sores on those who bear the beast’s mark. The second turns the sea to blood, and the third turns the rivers and springs to blood. The angel of the waters says that God’s judgments are true and righteous. The fourth bowl scorches people with heat, and they blaspheme God rather than turn. The fifth darkens the beast’s kingdom, and again they will not repent.

The sixth dries up the Euphrates, and three unclean spirits like frogs go out to gather the kings of the earth at a place called Harmagedon. In the middle comes a warning: “Behold, I come like a thief.” The seventh bowl is poured into the air, and a voice cries, “It is done!” Lightning, a great earthquake and enormous hailstones fall, and Babylon the great is divided into three parts.

Background

The bowls echo the plagues of Egypt (see Exodus 7 to 10), but they are now aimed at the beast’s kingdom. The chapter returns three times to the same sad note: people do not repent. Harmagedon, the source of the later word Armageddon, is named in Hebrew in the text, and Christians disagree about where or when it is meant. As with other judgment scenes in Revelation, readers are asked to see the justice of God and the seriousness of evil.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 20 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes