The Seven Bowls Poured Out
The bowls come with no interval: sores, sea like a corpse's blood, rivers, scorching sun, darkness, the Euphrates dried for invading kings. Scorched and in pain, people curse our Father and refuse to repent. The seventh bowl ends it — It is done — and Babylon is remembered.
16 1I heard a loud voice from the temple tell the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth."
2The first angel poured his bowl on the earth; harmful, painful sores broke out on those who had the beast's mark and worshiped its image.
3The second poured his bowl into the sea; it became blood like a corpse's, and everything alive in the sea died.
4The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5I heard the angel of the waters say, "You are righteous, our Father, who is and who was, the Holy One, for you judged these things. 6For they shed the blood of your holy people and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve."
7And I heard the altar respond, "Yes, Sovereign Father Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments."
8The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, given to scorch people with fire. 9Scorched by intense heat, people insulted the name of our Father, who controls these plagues, and refused to repent and give him glory.
10The fifth angel poured his bowl on the beast's throne, darkening its kingdom; people gnawed their tongues in pain, 11and insulted our Father of heaven for their pains and sores, refusing to repent of their deeds.
12The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates; its water dried up, clearing the way for the kings from the east. 13I saw three frog-like unclean spirits come from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. 14Demonic spirits performing signs, they go out to kings of the whole world to gather them for battle on the great day of our Father, the Almighty.
15"Look, I'm coming like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so he won't walk naked and they see his shame." a a v15 This is Jesus speaking — his sudden first-person promise inserted into the bowls narrative, echoing his earlier words in Revelation 3:3.
16And they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. b b v16 Armageddon means 'mountain of Megiddo' — a valley in northern Israel, the site of decisive ancient battles, used here for the final gathering of the kings against our Father.
17The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice from the temple throne said, "It is done!" 18Lightning flashed, rumblings sounded, thunder rolled, and a massive earthquake struck—the worst since humanity began on earth—so great was that earthquake. 19The great city split into three parts; the nations' cities fell. Babylon the great was remembered before our Father, to make her drink the cup of the wine of his fierce wrath. 20Every island fled away, and no mountains could be found. 21Huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on the people, who cursed our Father for the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
