Devine Scripture

Revelation 16:8

What does Revelation 16:8 mean?

A plain-English look at Revelation 16:8 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Revelation 16:8 means

The fourth bowl is poured on the sun, and it is granted power to scorch people with fire. The very star that normally sustains life becomes an instrument of torment. The passive phrase “it was given” reminds us that even the sun operates under God’s authority; He can repurpose creation for judgment. This reversal is striking: the light that once warmed now burns. It is a foretaste of what it means when God removes His restraining mercy. No human can shield themselves from the sky; the inescapable heat portrays how none can evade the Lord’s righteous dealings when the day of reckoning arrives.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And the fourth let what was in his vessel come out on the sun; and power was given to it that men might be burned with fire.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

And the fourth messenger did pour out his vial upon the sun, and there was given to him to scorch men with fire,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

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

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And the fourth poured out his bowl on the sun; and it was given to it to burn men with fire.

Context

This bowl marks a shift from water judgments to a heavenly one, moving the action upward. The next verse focuses not on the mechanics of the plague but on the human heart’s reaction. As with Pharaoh in Exodus, increased severity does not produce repentance here. Instead, blasphemy grows. That reaction will become a refrain and a theological marker in the chapter, clarifying why the judgments continue to mount: the wicked harden themselves against the God who has power over the plagues.

v.7And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

v.8This passage

v.9And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Revelation 8:12

    And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; that the third part of them should be darkened, and the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night in like manner.

  • Jonah 4:8

    And it came to pass, when the sun arose, that God prepared a sultry east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.

  • Revelation 7:16

    They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat:

  • Matthew 13:6

    and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

  • Revelation 9:2

    And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

  • Isaiah 24:23

    Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory.

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