Revelation 16:3

Christian Standard Bible ®

The second poured out his bowl into the sea. It turned to blood like that of a dead person, and all life in the sea died.

Parallel Translations

King James Version (1611)
And the second Angel powred out his viall vpon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man: and euery liuing soule died in the sea.

King James Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.

New Century Version
The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.

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

English Standard Version
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.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.

Berean Standard Bible
And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.

Contemporary English Version
The second angel emptied his bowl on the sea. Right away the sea turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

Complete Jewish Bible
The second one poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.

Darby Translation
And the second poured out his bowl on the sea; and it became blood, as of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.

Easy-to-Read Version
The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. Then the sea became blood like a dead man's blood. And everything living in the sea died.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the second Angel powred out his viall vpon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man: and euery liuing thing dyed in the sea.

George Lamsa Translation
Then 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.

Good News Translation
Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. The water became like the blood of a dead person, and every living creature in the sea died.

Lexham English Bible
And the second poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood, like that of a dead person, and every living thing that was in the sea died.

Literal Translation
And the second angel poured out his bowl onto the sea. And it became blood, as of a dead one, and every soul of life died in the sea.

Amplified Bible
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a corpse [foul and disgusting]; and every living thing in the sea died.

American Standard Version
And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.

Bible in Basic English
And the second let what was in his vessel come out into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea came to an end.

Hebrew Names Version
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.

International Standard Version
The second angel poured his bowl into the sea. It became like the blood of a dead body, and every living thing in the sea died.Exodus 7:17,20; Revelation 8:8-9;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
And the second angel poured his vial upon the sea; and it became blood as of the dead, and every living soul died which was in the sea.

Murdock Translation
And the second angel poured his cup upon the sea; and it became blood, like that of a dead person; and every living soul of things in the sea, died.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the second angell shed out his vial vpon the sea, and it turned as it were into the blood of a dead man: and euery lyuyng thyng dyed in the sea.

English Revised Version
And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.

World English Bible
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.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the second poured out his phial upon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul in the sea died.

Weymouth's New Testament
The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became blood, like a dead man's blood, and every living creature in the sea died.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the secounde aungel schedde out his viol in to the see, and the blood was maad, as of a deed thing; and ech man lyuynge was deed in the see.

Update Bible Version
And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, [even] the things that were in the sea.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

New English Translation
Next, the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea and it turned into blood, like that of a corpse, and every living creature that was in the sea died.

New King James Version
Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

New Living Translation
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.

New Life Bible
The second angel poured out his jar of God's anger onto the sea. The water became like the blood of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.

New Revised Standard
The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, the second, poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood, as of a dead man, and, every living soul, died - as regardeth the things in the sea.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea. And there came blood as it were of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

Revised Standard Version
The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead man, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And the seconde angell shed out his viall apon ye see and it turned as it were into the bloud of a deed ma: and every lyvinge thynge dyed in the see.

Young's Literal Translation
And the second messenger did pour out his vial to the sea, and there came blood as of [one] dead, and every living soul died in the sea.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the seconde angel shed out his viall vpo the see, and it turned as it were in to the bloud of a deed man: and euery lyuinge thinge dyed in the see,

Mace New Testament (1729)
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.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Then the second angel poured his bowl into the sea. The water became like thick, congealed blood of someone who was dead. Every living thing in the sea died.

Contextual Overview

¹Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” ²The first went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and severely painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image. ³The second poured out his bowl into the sea. It turned to blood like that of a dead person, and all life in the sea died.⁴The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵I heard the angel of the waters say, ⁶Because they poured outthe blood of the saints and the prophets,you have given them blood to drink;they deserve it! ⁷I heard the altar say,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

upon: Revelation 8:8, Revelation 10:2, Revelation 13:1

it became: Revelation 11:6, Exodus 7:17-21, Psalms 78:44, Psalms 105:29, Ezekiel 16:38

and every: Revelation 8:9, Genesis 7:22

Reciprocal: Psalms 78:45 - frogs Isaiah 34:3 - and the mountains Ezekiel 14:19 - and pour 1 Corinthians 15:45 - The first

Cross-References

Genesis 16:1
Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar.

Genesis 16:4
He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her.

Genesis 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and when she saw that she was pregnant, I became contemptible to her. May the Lord judge between me and you.”

Genesis 25:6
But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines, and while he was still alive he sent them eastward, away from his son Isaac, to the land of the East.

Genesis 28:9
so Esau went to Ishmael and married, in addition to his other wives, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. She was the sister of Nebaioth.

Genesis 30:4
So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.

Genesis 30:9
When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

Genesis 32:22
During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two slave women, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok.

Genesis 35:22
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.

2 Samuel 5:13
After he arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea - So the second trumpet Revelation 8:8, “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood.” For the meaning of this as a symbol, see the notes on that verse.

And it became as the blood of a dead man - “Either very bloody, like a mangled corse, or else colored, as it were, with the dark and almost black blood of a dead man” (Prof. Stuart, in loco). The latter would seem to be, most probably, the meaning; implying that the ocean would become discolored, and indicating that this was the effect of blood shed in great quantities on its waters. In Revelation 8:8 it is, “the sea became blood”; here the allusion to the blood of a dead man would more naturally suggest the idea of naval conflicts, and of the blood of the slain poured in great quantities into the deep.

And every living soul died in the sea - In Revelation 8:9 it is said that “the third part of the creatures that were in the sea died, and the third part of the ships were destroyed.” Here the destruction is more general; the calamity is more severe and awful. It is as if every living thing - πᾶσα ψυχὴ ζῶσα pasa psuchē zōsa - had died. No emphasis should be put on the word “soul” here, for the word means merely “a creature, a living thing, an animal,” Acts 2:43; Acts 3:23; Romans 13:1; 1 Corinthians 15:45. See Robinson, Lexicon sub voce, c. The sense here is, that there would be some dreadful calamity, as if the sea were to be changed into dark blood, and as if every living thing in it were to die.

In inquiring into the proper application of this, it is natural to look for something pertaining to the sea, or the ocean (see the notes on Revelation 8:8-9), and we should expect to find the fulfillment in some calamity that would fall on the marine force, or the commerce of the power that is here referred to; that is, according to the interpretation all along adopted, of the papal power; and the proper application, according to this interpretation, would be the complete destruction or annihilation of the naval force that contributed to sustain the papacy. This we should look for in respect to the naval power of France, Spain, and Portugal, for these are the only papal nations that have had a navy. We should expect, in the fulfillment of this, to find a series of naval disasters, reddening the sea with blood, which would tend to weaken the power of the papacy, and which might be regarded as one in the series of events that would ultimately result in its entire overthrow.

Accordingly, in pursuance of the plan adopted in explaining the pouring out of the first vial, it is to be observed that immediately succeeding, and connected with, the events thus referred to, there was a series of naval disasters that swept away the fleets of France, and that completely demolished the most formidable naval power that had ever been prepared by any nation under the papal dominion. This series of disasters is thus noticed by Mr. Elliott (iii. 329, 330): “Meanwhile, the great naval war between France and England was in progress; which, from its commencement in February, 1793, lasted for above twenty years, with no intermission but that of the short and delusive peace of Amiens; in which war the maritime power of Great Britain was strengthened by the Almighty Providence that protected her to destroy everywhere the French ships, commerce, and smaller colonies; including those of the fast and long-continued allies of the French, Holland and Spain. In the year 1793, the greater part of the French fleet at Toulon was destroyed by Lord Hood; in June, 1794, followed Lord Howe’s great victory over the French off Ushant; then the taking of Corsica, and nearly all the smaller Spanish and French West India Islands; then, in 1795, Lord Bridport’s naval victory, and the capture of the Cape of Good Hope; as also soon after of a French and Dutch fleet, sent to retake it; then, in 1797, the victory over the Spanish fleet off Cape Vincent; and that of Camperdown over the Dutch; then, in succession, Lord Nelson’s three mighty victories - of the Nile in 1798, of Copenhagen in 1801, and in 1805 of Trafalgar. Altogether in this naval war, from its beginning in 1793, to its end in 1815, it appears that there were destroyed near 200 ships of the line, between 300 and 400 frigates, and an almost incalculable number of smaller vessels of war and ships of commerce. The whole history of the world does not present such a period of naval war, destruction, and bloodshed.” This brief summary may show, if this was referred to, the propriety of the expression, “The sea became as the blood of a dead man”; and may show also that, on the supposition that it was intended that these events should be referred to, an appropriate symbol has been employed. No language could more strikingly set forth these bloody scenes.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Revelation 16:3. As the blood of a dead man — Either meaning blood in a state of putrescency, or an effusion of blood in naval conflicts; even the sea was tinged with the blood of those who were slain in these wars. This is most probably the meaning of this vial. These engagements were so sanguinary that both the conquerors and the conquered were nearly destroyed; every living soul died in the sea.