Verse-by-Verse Study Notes
STUDY NOTES — verse by verse. [Brackets] mark English helper words. Hebrew quoted word-for-word from the Tanakh, never invented. “Lord” = kurios (title), never the Name. Greek in pinned comment; apparatus free below.
Rev 16:1 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels: ‘Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of Elohim into the earth.’”
Heb: none verbally exact — the seven bowls continue the frame opened in 15:1; the pouring of the plagues is Revelation’s own Exodus pattern, cf. the plagues below.
Rev 16:2 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And the first went and poured out the bowl of him into the earth; and there came a sore bad and evil upon the men, the [ones] having the mark of the beast and the [ones] worshiping the image of him.”
Heb, Exod 9:8-10 (the sixth plague — boils on man and beast): וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל אַהֲרֹן קְחוּ לָכֶם מְלֹא חָפְנֵיכֶם פִּיחַ כִּבְשָׁן וּזְרָקוֹ מֹשֶׁה הַשָּׁמַיְמָה לְעֵינֵי פַרְעֹה וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת פִּיחַ הַכִּבְשָׁן וַיַּעַמְדוּ לִפְנֵי פַרְעֹה וַיִּזְרֹק אֹתוֹ מֹשֶׁה הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וַיְהִי שְׁחִין אֲבַעְבֻּעֹת פֹּרֵחַ בָּאָדָם וּבַבְּהֵמָה — “and YudHeyVavHey said to Moses and to Aaron: ‘Take for yourselves handfuls of soot of a furnace, and let Moses throw it toward heaven before the eyes of Pharaoh’” “and they took the soot of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became boils breaking out with sores on man and on beast”
Rev 16:3 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And the second poured out the bowl of him into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead [one], and every soul of life died, the [things] in the sea.”
Heb, Exod 7:17 (the word to turn the waters to blood): כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה בְּזֹאת תֵּדַע כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי מַכֶּה בַּמַּטֶּה אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדִי עַל הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר בַּיְאֹר וְנֶהֶפְכוּ לְדָם — “thus says YudHeyVavHey: ‘By this you shall know that I am YudHeyVavHey: behold, I am striking with the staff that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the Nile, and they shall be turned to blood’”
Heb, Exod 7:20 (it was done): וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כֵן מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה וַיָּרֶם בַּמַּטֶּה וַיַּךְ אֶת הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר בַּיְאֹר לְעֵינֵי פַרְעֹה וּלְעֵינֵי עֲבָדָיו וַיֵּהָפְכוּ כָּל הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר בַּיְאֹר לְדָם — “and Moses and Aaron did so, as YudHeyVavHey had commanded, and he lifted the staff and struck the waters that were in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all the waters that were in the Nile were turned to blood”
Rev 16:4 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And the third poured out the bowl of him into the rivers and the springs of the waters; and it became blood.”
Heb, Exod 7:19 (every water in Egypt to become blood): וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה אֱמֹר אֶל אַהֲרֹן קַח מַטְּךָ וּנְטֵה יָדְךָ עַל מֵימֵי מִצְרַיִם עַל נַהֲרֹתָם עַל יְאֹרֵיהֶם וְעַל אַגְמֵיהֶם וְעַל כָּל מִקְוֵה מֵימֵיהֶם וְיִהְיוּ דָם וְהָיָה דָם בְּכָל אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וּבָעֵצִים וּבָאֲבָנִים — “and YudHeyVavHey said to Moses: ‘Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch your hand over the waters of Egypt — over their rivers, over their Niles, over their pools, and over every gathering of their waters — and they shall become blood; and there shall be blood in all the land of Egypt, even in wood and in stone’”
Rev 16:5 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and I heard the angel of the waters saying: ‘Righteous are You, the [One] being and the [One] having been, the Pure [One], because these things You judged,’”
Heb, Ps 119:137 (righteous are You): צַדִּיק אַתָּה יְהוָה וְיָשָׁר מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ — “righteous are You, YudHeyVavHey, and upright are Your judgments”
Rev 16:6 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “‘because blood of holy [ones] and prophets they poured out, and blood to them You have given to drink; worthy they are.’”
Heb, Ps 79:3 (their blood poured out like water): שָׁפְכוּ דָמָם כַּמַּיִם סְבִיבוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם וְאֵין קוֹבֵר — “they poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury”
Rev 16:7 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and I heard the altar saying: ‘Yes, Elohim — the God, the Almighty — true and righteous [are] the judgments of You.’”
Heb, Ps 119:137 (righteous are Your judgments — the second half of the verse behind this doxology): צַדִּיק אַתָּה יְהוָה וְיָשָׁר מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ — “righteous are You, YudHeyVavHey, and upright are Your judgments”
Rev 16:8 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And the fourth poured out the bowl of him upon the sun; and it was given to him to scorch the men with fire.”
Heb, Mal 3:19 (the burning day): כִּי הִנֵּה הַיּוֹם בָּא בֹּעֵר כַּתַּנּוּר וְהָיוּ כָל זֵדִים וְכָל עֹשֵׂה רִשְׁעָה קַשׁ וְלִהַט אֹתָם הַיּוֹם הַבָּא אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא יַעֲזֹב לָהֶם שֹׁרֶשׁ וְעָנָף — “for behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud and every doer of wickedness shall be stubble, and the coming day shall set them ablaze — says YudHeyVavHey of hosts — which shall leave them neither root nor branch”
Rev 16:9 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and the men were scorched [with] a great scorching; and they blasphemed the name of Elohim, the [One] having the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent to give to Him glory.”
Heb: continues Mal 3:19 above — the scorching; no new parallel.
STUDY NOTES — verse by verse. [Brackets] mark English helper words. Hebrew quoted word-for-word from the Tanakh, never invented. “Lord” = kurios (title), never the Name. Greek in pinned comment; apparatus free below.
Rev 16:10 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And the fifth poured out the bowl of him upon the throne of the beast; and the kingdom of him became having been darkened, and they were gnawing the tongues of them out of the pain,”
Heb, Exod 10:21-22 (the ninth plague — darkness over Egypt): וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה נְטֵה יָדְךָ עַל הַשָּׁמַיִם וִיהִי חֹשֶׁךְ עַל אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וְיָמֵשׁ חֹשֶׁךְ וַיֵּט מֹשֶׁה אֶת יָדוֹ עַל הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיְהִי חֹשֶׁךְ אֲפֵלָה בְּכָל אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים — “and YudHeyVavHey said to Moses: ‘Stretch your hand toward heaven, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt’” “and Moses stretched his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days”
Rev 16:11 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and they blasphemed the Elohim of heaven out of the pains of them and out of the sores of them, and they did not repent out of the works of them.”
Heb: continues Exod 10:21-22 above — the darkness; no new parallel.
Rev 16:12 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “And the sixth poured out the bowl of him upon the river, the great, the Euphrates; and the water of it was dried up, so that might be prepared the way of the kings, the [ones] from the rising of the sun.”
Heb, Isa 11:15 (the drying of the waters): וְהֶחֱרִים יְהוָה אֵת לְשׁוֹן יָם מִצְרַיִם וְהֵנִיף יָדוֹ עַל הַנָּהָר בַּעְיָם רוּחוֹ וְהִכָּהוּ לְשִׁבְעָה נְחָלִים וְהִדְרִיךְ בַּנְּעָלִים — “and YudHeyVavHey shall utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and He shall wave His hand over the River with His mighty wind, and He shall strike it into seven streams, and He shall make [men] go over in sandals”
Rev 16:13 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and I saw 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 spirits unclean as frogs;”
Heb, Exod 7:27 (Heb.; Eng. 8:2 — the plague of frogs): וְאִם מָאֵן אַתָּה לְשַׁלֵּחַ הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי נֹגֵף אֶת כָּל גְּבוּלְךָ בַּצְפַרְדְּעִים — “and if you refuse to let [them] go, behold, I am striking all your border with frogs”
Rev 16:14 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “for they are spirits of demons doing signs, which go out upon the kings of the whole inhabited [earth], to gather them into the battle of the great day of Elohim, the Almighty—”
Heb, Zech 14:2 (all the nations gathered for battle): וְאָסַפְתִּי אֶת כָּל הַגּוֹיִם אֶל יְרוּשָׁלִַם לַמִּלְחָמָה — “and I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle”
Heb, Joel 4:2 (Heb.; Eng. 3:2 — the gathering of all nations): וְקִבַּצְתִּי אֶת כָּל הַגּוֹיִם וְהוֹרַדְתִּים אֶל עֵמֶק יְהוֹשָׁפָט — “and I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Yehoshaphat”
Rev 16:15 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] the [one] watching and keeping the garments of him, so that not naked he may walk and they may see the shame of him—”
Heb, Mic 1:8 (going stripped and naked — the shame of nakedness): עַל זֹאת אֶסְפְּדָה וְאֵילִילָה אֵילְכָה שׁוֹלָל וְעָרוֹם — “over this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked” (no verbally exact Tanakh parallel for the thief motif — it is Revelation’s own, cf. 3:3)
Rev 16:16 — א A; P47 C lacuna.
Lit: “and he gathered them into the place, the [one] being called in Hebrew Armageddon.”
Heb, Judg 5:19 (the kings fought at Megiddo): בָּאוּ מְלָכִים נִלְחָמוּ אָז נִלְחֲמוּ מַלְכֵי כְנַעַן בְּתַעְנַךְ עַל מֵי מְגִדּוֹ — “the kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo”
Heb, Zech 12:11 (the plain of Megiddo): בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִגְדַּל הַמִּסְפֵּד בִּירוּשָׁלִַם כְּמִסְפַּד הֲדַדְ רִמּוֹן בְּבִקְעַת מְגִדּוֹן — “in that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be great, like the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo”
Rev 16:17 — P47 א A; C lacuna.
Lit: “And the seventh poured out the bowl of him upon the air — and there came out a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying: ‘It has come to be’—”
Heb: none verbally exact — the voice from the temple throne closing the bowls is Revelation’s own; the temple of the tabernacle was opened at 15:5.
Rev 16:18 — P47 א A; C lacuna.
Lit: “and there came lightnings and voices and thunders, and a great earthquake came, such as did not come since men came to be upon the earth — so great an earthquake, so mighty,”
Heb, Ezek 38:19 (a great earthquake): וּבְקִנְאָתִי בְאֵשׁ עֶבְרָתִי דִּבַּרְתִּי אִם לֹא בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה רַעַשׁ גָּדוֹל עַל אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל — “and in My jealousy, in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake upon the land of Israel”
Heb, Dan 12:1 (the “such as never was” formula): וְהָיְתָה עֵת צָרָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא נִהְיְתָה מִהְיוֹת גּוֹי עַד הָעֵת הַהִיא — “and there shall be a time of distress, such as never was since there was a nation until that time”
Rev 16:19 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and the great city came into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell; and Babylon, the great, was remembered before Elohim, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fury of the wrath of Him;”
Heb, Jer 25:15 (the cup of the wine of wrath): כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵלַי קַח אֶת כּוֹס הַיַּיִן הַחֵמָה הַזֹּאת מִיָּדִי — “for thus says YudHeyVavHey, the Elohim of Israel, to me: ‘Take the cup of the wine of wrath, this [one], from My hand’”
Heb, Ps 75:9 (Heb.; Eng. 75:8 — the cup in His hand): כִּי כוֹס בְּיַד יְהוָה וְיַיִן חָמַר מָלֵא מֶסֶךְ — “for a cup is in the hand of YudHeyVavHey, and the wine foams, full of mixture”
Rev 16:20 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and every island fled, and mountains were not found.”
Heb, Ezek 38:20 (the mountains fall): וְנֶהֶרְסוּ הֶהָרִים וְנָפְלוּ הַמַּדְרֵגוֹת — “and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall” (cf. Rev 6:14 — “every mountain and island were moved out of their places”)
Rev 16:21 — P47 א A C.
Lit: “and great hail as talent-weight comes down out of heaven upon the men; and the men blasphemed Elohim out of the plague of the hail, because great is the plague of it, exceedingly.”
Heb, Exod 9:23 (the seventh plague — hail): וַיֵּט מֹשֶׁה אֶת מַטֵּהוּ עַל הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיהוָה נָתַן קֹלֹת וּבָרָד וַתִּהֲלַךְ אֵשׁ אָרְצָה וַיַּמְטֵר יְהוָה בָּרָד עַל אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם — “and Moses stretched his staff toward heaven, and YudHeyVavHey gave thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth, and YudHeyVavHey rained hail upon the land of Egypt”
Heb, Josh 10:11 (great stones from heaven): וַֽיהוָה הִשְׁלִיךְ עֲלֵיהֶם אֲבָנִים גְּדֹלוֹת מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם עַד עֲזֵקָה וַיָּמֻתוּ — “and YudHeyVavHey cast upon them great stones from heaven, unto Azekah, and they died”