And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, the One who is and who was, O Holy One, because You judged these things;
Parallel translations
- WEB I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are righteous, who are and who were, you Holy One, because you have judged these things.
- KJV And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
- BSB And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.
- NKJV And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.
- NLT And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying, “You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was, because you have sent these judgments.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The angel of the waters declares God righteous in these judgments. Even severe wrath is just, fitting God's holy and eternal nature.
Overview
The angel praises God as 'who are and who were,' the Holy One, affirming that turning waters to blood is a righteous act. This response guards against viewing the plagues as cruelty; they are the just verdict of the eternal, holy God. Heaven itself testifies to the rightness of divine judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Rev 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega, ” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- Rev 11:17saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned.
- Rev 1:4John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;
- Ps 145:17Yahweh is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works.
- 2 Th 1:5–6This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer.
- Rev 4:8The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!”
- Rev 15:3–4They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations.
- Gen 18:25Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
- Ps 129:4Yahweh is righteous. He has cut apart the cords of the wicked.
- Rom 2:5But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God;
- Dan 9:14Therefore has Yahweh watched over the evil, and brought it on us; for Yahweh our God is righteous in all his works which he does, and we have not obeyed his voice.
- Rom 3:5But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do.
- Rev 16:7I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”
- Rev 19:2for true and righteous are his judgments. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”
- Lam 1:18“Yahweh is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment. Please hear all you peoples, and see my sorrow. My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.
- Rev 16:4The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
- John 17:25Righteous Father, the world hasn’t known you, but I knew you; and these knew that you sent me.
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 16:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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