Revelation 16:3

Bible

NIV

Revelation 16

3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

Read Chapter Compare

PREVIOUS Revelation 16:2 NEXT Revelation 16:4

Revelation 16:3 in Other Translations

KJV

3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

ESV

3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

NLT

3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.

MSG

3 The second Angel poured his bowl on the sea: The sea coagulated into blood, and everything in it died.

CSB

3 The second poured out his bowl into the sea. It turned to blood like a dead man's, and all life in the sea died.

Revelation 16:3 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 16:3

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea
Not literally; and so does not design the stagnation of it, which it is thought will be before the general conflagration; see ( Amos 7:4 ) nor is it to be understood of the sea of this world, and the men of it, who are like a troubled sea; but rather of Popish doctrines and councils, which are a sea of errors, and will now be confuted and put an end to. Brightman applies it to the council of Trent, and makes this angel to be Chemnitius, a German divine, who wrote a confutation of it; but as the sea is a collection of many waters, and many waters in this book signify the people and nations under the Romish yoke, sea here may design the whole jurisdiction of Rome, or mystical Babylon; see ( Jeremiah 51:36 ) and particularly its maritime powers, Spain and Portugal: and as the second trumpet affected the sea, ( Revelation 8:8 ) and brought the Vandals into Spain and Portugal, so this second vial affects the sea, and brings great wars, slaughter, and bloodshed into these parts, when they also will be reformed from Popery:

and it became as the blood of a dead man;
thick, clotted together, and putrid, and so never to be returned to their former state:

and every living soul died in the sea:
those, that are not reformed will either die by the sword, or fly into other parts; for there will be no comfortable living for the Popish party in those countries where now they live in power, ease, and affluence. This, and the following vial, are referred by Mr. Daubuz, the one to the first crusades, or holy wars, for the regaining of the holy land, and the other to the latter of them.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Revelation 16:3 In-Context

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”

2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

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

5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were;