The Revelation of St. John the Divine

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 16 -

And I heard a great voice from the temple, saying to the seven Angels: “Go forth and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth.”

And the first Angel went forth and poured out his bowl upon the earth. And a severe and most grievous wound occurred upon the men who had the character of the beast, and upon those who adored the beast or its image.(a)

And the second Angel poured out his bowl upon the sea. And it became like the blood of the dead, and every living creature in the sea died.

And the third Angel poured out his bowl upon the rivers and the sources of water, and these became blood.

And I heard the Angel of the waters saying: “You are just, O Lord, who is and who was: the Holy One who has judged these things.

For they have shed the blood of the Saints and the Prophets, and so you have given them blood to drink. For they deserve this.”

And from the altar, I heard another one, saying, “Even now, O Lord God Almighty, your judgments are true and just.”

And the fourth Angel poured out his bowl upon the sun. And it was given to him to afflict men with heat and fire.

And men were scorched by the great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who holds power over these afflictions, but they did not repent, so as to give him glory.

And the fifth Angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast. And his kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed at their tongues out of anguish.

And they blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their anguish and wounds, but they did not repent from their works.

And the sixth Angel poured out his bowl upon that great river Euphrates. And its water dried up, so that a way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun.

And I saw, from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophetess, three unclean spirits go out in the manner of frogs.(b)

For these are the spirits of the demons that were causing the signs. And they advanced to the kings of the entire earth, to gather them for battle on the great day of Almighty God.

“Behold, I arrive like a thief. Blessed is he who is vigilant and who preserves his vestment, lest he walk naked and they see his disgrace.”

And he shall gather them together at a place which is called, in Hebrew, Armageddon.(c)

The Seventh Bowl of Wrath

And the seventh Angel poured out his bowl upon the air. And a great voice went out of the temple from the throne, saying: “It is done.”

And there were lightnings and voices and thunders. And a great earthquake occurred, of a kind such as has never happened since men have been upon the earth, so great was this kind of earthquake.

And the Great City became divided into three parts. And the cities of the Gentiles fell. And Babylon the great came to mind before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the indignation of his wrath.(d)

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

And hail as heavy as a talent descended from the sky upon men. And men blasphemed God, because of the affliction of the hail, for it was exceedingly great.

Footnotes

(a)16:2 The Latin Clementine text is here amended according to the 1590 Sixtus V edition, in several places.(Conte)

(b)16:13 This verse is amended with the addition of ‘exire’ which is in the 1590 edition, but not the 1598 edition. The reference to going out in the manner of frogs means that these unclean spirits leapt out from the dragon and the beast (the Antichrist) and the false prophetess (who is the last and worst antipope).(Conte)

(d)16:19 The phrase ‘venit in memoriam’ means to call to mind or to remember something. So God remembered that He was to give to Babylon the punishment due for her sins.(Conte)

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!”

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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,

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

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.(a)

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;

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.

“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.”

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

The Seventh Bowl of Wrath

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!”

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.

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.

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

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

Footnotes

(a)16:12 or, east

(b)16:21 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds.