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Grammar Analysis: Revelation 16:5-7

Mode: Passage unit analysis (context-neutral) Scope: Revelation 16:5-7, the angel-of-waters declaration and altar response within the bowl-judgment sequence. Aim: Document the Greek morphology, KJV alignment, clause structure, and grammar-bearing features relevant to sanctuary-service synthesis: angel of waters, righteous judgments, blood recompense, altar speech, and the "true and righteous" declaration. Grammar only; theological synthesis belongs downstream.

1. Text

v. Greek (parser output) KJV
5 Καὶ ἤκουσα τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῶν ὑδάτων λέγοντος Δίκαιος εἶ, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν, ὁ Ὅσιος, ὅτι ταῦτα ἔκρινας, 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.
6 ὅτι αἷμα ἁγίων καὶ προφητῶν ἐξέχεαν, καὶ αἷμα αὐτοῖς δέδωκας πεῖν· ἄξιοί εἰσιν. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 Καὶ ἤκουσα τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου λέγοντος Ναί, Κύριε ὁ Θεός ὁ Παντοκράτωρ, ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι αἱ κρίσεις σου. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.

Text-base note. The parser's Greek text and the KJV do not align at two important points. In v. 5, the parser reads ὁ Ὅσιος ("the Holy One") where the KJV has "O Lord" and also reflects a future element ("and shalt be") not present in the parser output. In v. 7, the parser reads simply τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου λέγοντος ("the altar saying"), while the KJV has "another out of the altar say," reflecting an explicit personal speaker in its base text. The morphology and analysis below follow the Greek parser output; the KJV is included as the requested English witness.

2. Word-by-Word Parsing

Revelation 16:5

# Word Lemma Strong's Parsing
1 Καὶ καί G2532 CONJ
2 ἤκουσα ἀκούω G191 V-AAI-1S (Aor Act Ind 1s)
3 τοῦ ὁ G3588 T-GSM (Gen Sg M)
4 ἀγγέλου ἄγγελος G32 N-GSM (Gen Sg M)
5 τῶν ὁ G3588 T-GPN (Gen Pl N)
6 ὑδάτων ὕδωρ G5204 N-GPN (Gen Pl N)
7 λέγοντος λέγω G3004 V-PAP-GSM (Pres Act Ptcp Gen Sg M)
8 Δίκαιος δίκαιος G1342 A-NSM (Nom Sg M)
9 εἶ εἰμί G1510 V-PAI-2S (Pres Act Ind 2s)
10 ὁ ὁ G3588 T-NSM (Nom Sg M)
11 ὢν εἰμί G1510 V-PAP-NSM (Pres Act Ptcp Nom Sg M)
12 καὶ καί G2532 CONJ
13 ὁ ὁ G3588 T-NSM (Nom Sg M)
14 ἦν εἰμί G1510 V-IAI-3S (Impf Act Ind 3s)
15 ὁ ὁ G3588 T-NSM (Nom Sg M)
16 Ὅσιος ὅσιος G3741 A-NSM (Nom Sg M)
17 ὅτι ὅτι G3754 CONJ
18 ταῦτα οὗτος G3778 D-APN (Acc Pl N)
19 ἔκρινας κρίνω G2919 V-AAI-2S (Aor Act Ind 2s)

Revelation 16:6

# Word Lemma Strong's Parsing
1 ὅτι ὅτι G3754 CONJ
2 αἷμα αἷμα G129 N-ASN (Acc Sg N)
3 ἁγίων ἅγιος G40 A-GPM (Gen Pl M)
4 καὶ καί G2532 CONJ
5 προφητῶν προφήτης G4396 N-GPM (Gen Pl M)
6 ἐξέχεαν ἐκχέω G1632 V-AAI-3P (Aor Act Ind 3p)
7 καὶ καί G2532 CONJ
8 αἷμα αἷμα G129 N-ASN (Acc Sg N)
9 αὐτοῖς αὐτός G846 P-DPM (Dat Pl M)
10 δέδωκας δίδωμι G1325 V-RAI-2S (Perf Act Ind 2s)
11 πεῖν πίνω G4095 V-2AAN (2nd Aor Act Inf)
12 ἄξιοί ἄξιος G514 A-NPM (Nom Pl M)
13 εἰσιν εἰμί G1510 V-PAI-3P (Pres Act Ind 3p)

Revelation 16:7

# Word Lemma Strong's Parsing
1 Καὶ καί G2532 CONJ
2 ἤκουσα ἀκούω G191 V-AAI-1S (Aor Act Ind 1s)
3 τοῦ ὁ G3588 T-GSN (Gen Sg N)
4 θυσιαστηρίου θυσιαστήριον G2379 N-GSN (Gen Sg N)
5 λέγοντος λέγω G3004 V-PAP-GSM (Pres Act Ptcp Gen Sg M)
6 Ναί ναί G3483 PRT
7 Κύριε κύριος G2962 N-VSM (Voc Sg M)
8 ὁ ὁ G3588 T-NSM (Nom Sg M)
9 Θεός θεός G2316 N-NSM (Nom Sg M)
10 ὁ ὁ G3588 T-NSM (Nom Sg M)
11 Παντοκράτωρ παντοκράτωρ G3841 N-NSM (Nom Sg M)
12 ἀληθιναὶ ἀληθινός G228 A-NPF (Nom Pl F)
13 καὶ καί G2532 CONJ
14 δίκαιαι δίκαιος G1342 A-NPF (Nom Pl F)
15 αἱ ὁ G3588 T-NPF (Nom Pl F)
16 κρίσεις κρίσις G2920 N-NPF (Nom Pl F)
17 σου σύ G4771 P-2GS (Gen Sg)

3. Clause Structure

v.5  Καὶ ἤκουσα
       τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῶν ὑδάτων λέγοντος
         Δίκαιος εἶ,
         ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν,
         ὁ Ὅσιος,
         ὅτι ταῦτα ἔκρινας,

v.6    ὅτι αἷμα ἁγίων καὶ προφητῶν ἐξέχεαν,
       καὶ αἷμα αὐτοῖς δέδωκας πεῖν·
       ἄξιοί εἰσιν.

v.7  Καὶ ἤκουσα
       τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου λέγοντος
         Ναί,
         Κύριε ὁ Θεός ὁ Παντοκράτωρ,
         ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι αἱ κρίσεις σου.

Structural summary.

  • The two outer clauses are auditory vision formulas: Καὶ ἤκουσα ... λέγοντος in v. 5 and v. 7. The seer hears a speaking source; the present participle λέγοντος introduces the speech content.
  • Verse 5 gives the declaration of the angel of the waters: God's righteousness is asserted by nominative predicate adjective + εἰμί, then grounded by ὅτι ταῦτα ἔκρινας.
  • Verse 6 gives the reason inside the speech: blood was shed, blood was given to drink, and the recipients are worthy/deserving.
  • Verse 7 gives a second confirming voice associated with the altar: Ναί ratifies the preceding declaration, then the altar-speech names God vocatively and declares the judgments true and righteous.

No Greek parser --similar matches were found for Rev 16:5 or Rev 16:7 at similarity >= 0.6, so the analysis rests on the direct passage morphology rather than on a retrieved parallel-pattern set.

4. Key Grammatical Features

1. τοῦ ἀγγέλου τῶν ὑδάτων λέγοντος — heard genitive source plus speech-introducing participle

Morphology.

  • ἤκουσα — aorist active indicative 1s of ἀκούω: the seer reports a bounded hearing event.
  • τοῦ ἀγγέλου — genitive singular masculine: the heard speaker/source.
  • τῶν ὑδάτων — genitive plural neuter dependent on ἀγγέλου: "of the waters."
  • λέγοντος — present active participle genitive singular masculine, agreeing with ἀγγέλου.

Function. The construction is not simply "I heard sound"; it identifies a personal speaking source and then gives the content of the speech. The genitive τῶν ὑδάτων grammatically marks the angel by relation to the waters. The grammar itself does not decide whether that relation is jurisdiction, assignment, domain, or possession; in the bowl context, the "angel of the waters" is the appropriate speaker over the waters-turned-blood judgment.

Sanctuary-service relevance. The waters are not a disconnected nature-image in the grammar. The angel's domain is encoded in the noun phrase before the judgment declaration begins. The one attached to the affected element (τῶν ὑδάτων) declares the judgment righteous, creating a syntactic link between plague-domain and verdict.

Grammar reference: participle-legon-discourse; vision-introduction-formulas

Word studies: WG-angel; TR-mayim-hudor

2. Δίκαιος εἶ ... ὅτι ταῦτα ἔκρινας — righteous identity grounded in a completed judgment act

Morphology.

  • Δίκαιος — nominative singular masculine predicate adjective.
  • εἶ — present active indicative 2s of εἰμί.
  • ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν — articular present participle ("the One being") coordinated with articular imperfect indicative ("the One who was").
  • ὁ Ὅσιος — nominative singular masculine adjective used substantivally/appositionally: "the Holy One."
  • ὅτι — causal conjunction here: "because."
  • ταῦτα — accusative plural neuter demonstrative, object or adverbial-object frame: "these things / thus."
  • ἔκρινας — aorist active indicative 2s of κρίνω: "you judged."

Function. The declaration starts with present-stative identity (Δίκαιος εἶ) and grounds that declaration in a bounded act (ἔκρινας). The present εἶ states what God is; the aorist ἔκρινας states what God has done in the judgment event. The grammar therefore binds divine character and judicial action without collapsing them: the action manifests the character.

Text-base caution. The parser text reads ὁ Ὅσιος; the KJV has "O Lord ... and shalt be." The grammar table follows the parser reading. In this text form, the appositional title is holiness (ὁ Ὅσιος), not a future-existence clause.

Grammar reference: tense-present-active-indicative; aorist-active-indicative-narrative-chain

Word studies: G1342-dikaios; TR-tsaddiyq-dikaios; G2919-krino; TR-shaphat-krino

3. αἷμα ... ἐξέχεαν, καὶ αἷμα ... δέδωκας πεῖν — blood recompense by matched accusatives

Morphology.

  • First αἷμα — accusative singular neuter, direct object of ἐξέχεαν.
  • ἁγίων καὶ προφητῶν — coordinated genitive plural modifiers: "of saints and prophets."
  • ἐξέχεαν — aorist active indicative 3p of ἐκχέω: "they poured out / shed."
  • Second αἷμα — accusative singular neuter, direct object of δέδωκας.
  • αὐτοῖς — dative plural masculine, recipient/indirect object: "to them."
  • δέδωκας — perfect active indicative 2s of δίδωμι.
  • πεῖν — second aorist active infinitive of πίνω, complementary/result infinitive: "to drink."

Function. The verse is built on a recompense pair:

Human act Divine recompense
αἷμα ... ἐξέχεαν αἷμα αὐτοῖς δέδωκας πεῖν
"they shed blood" "you have given them blood to drink"

The repeated fronted αἷμα makes blood the lexical hinge of the clause. The aorist ἐξέχεαν views the persecutors' act as a bounded deed; the perfect δέδωκας presents the divine giving as a completed act with standing result. The infinitive πεῖν specifies the purpose/result of the giving: the blood is not merely assigned to them; it is given them to drink.

Sanctuary-service relevance. The grammar frames the plague as measured recompense, not arbitrary violence: object mirrors object (αἷμα / αἷμα), and recipient dative (αὐτοῖς) identifies the ones who receive back the blood measure.

Grammar reference: tense-perfect-indicative; tense-perfect

Word studies: G129-haima; TR-dam-haima; WG-blood; G1325-didomi

4. ἄξιοί εἰσιν — predicate adjective declaring deservedness

Morphology.

  • ἄξιοί — nominative plural masculine adjective.
  • εἰσιν — present active indicative 3p of εἰμί.

Function. The clause gives the judicial rationale in compact predicate-adjective form: "they are worthy/deserving." The masculine plural subject is implicit from the preceding ἐξέχεαν and αὐτοῖς; the same group who shed the blood receives the blood-to-drink judgment. The grammar therefore closes v. 6 with a present-tense evaluation of the recipients' fitness for the recompense.

Important limit. ἄξιοί εἰσιν does not state that the persecutors are morally worthy in a positive sense. In this context, ἄξιος marks correspondence/deservedness: the recompense fits the act.

Grammar reference: tense-present-active-indicative

5. τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου λέγοντος — altar-associated speech and masculine sense-concord

Morphology.

  • τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου — genitive singular neuter: "of the altar."
  • λέγοντος — present active participle genitive singular masculine.

Problem. Strict form-concord would expect a neuter participle if λέγοντος agreed directly with θυσιαστηρίου. Instead the parser has neuter noun + masculine participle. This creates a live grammatical issue:

  1. The participle may reflect constructio ad sensum: the altar is not treated as a mere object but as a personal or person-associated speech source.
  2. The KJV's "another out of the altar" reflects a text-base where an explicit masculine speaker is present; that would mechanically explain the masculine participle.
  3. In the parser text as given, the masculine participle preserves personal agency even though the visible source is the altar.

Sanctuary-service relevance. This is the most important sanctuary grammar in the unit. The altar is not an inert prop in v. 7. The grammar makes the altar, or a masculine speaker associated with the altar, a confirming witness to the blood-recompense judgment. That fits the altar's canonical association with sacrificial blood and the blood of martyrs crying for judgment (cf. Rev 6:9-10 conceptually; this entry is only marking the grammar).

Grammar reference: constructio-ad-sensum; concord-shift-neuter-to-masculine; participle-legon-discourse

Word studies: G2379-thysiastērion; TR-mizbeach-thysiasterion; WG-altar

6. ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι αἱ κρίσεις σου — verbless predicate adjectives before the subject

Morphology.

  • ἀληθιναὶ — nominative plural feminine adjective.
  • δίκαιαι — nominative plural feminine adjective.
  • αἱ κρίσεις — article + nominative plural feminine noun, subject: "the judgments."
  • σου — genitive singular pronoun: "your."

Function. The clause is verbless/equative: "true and righteous [are] your judgments." The predicate adjectives precede the articular subject, giving the qualities front position. The KJV's bracketed [are] correctly supplies the implied copula in English.

Relation to v. 5. The adjective δίκαιος in v. 5 describes God personally (Δίκαιος εἶ); the adjective δίκαιαι in v. 7 describes God's judgments (αἱ κρίσεις σου). The passage therefore forms a grammatical righteousness arc:

Verse Subject Predicate
v. 5 God addressed directly Δίκαιος
v. 7 God's judgments ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι

The altar speech ratifies the angel's declaration by applying the same righteousness vocabulary to the judgments themselves and pairing it with ἀληθινός ("true, genuine, reliable").

Word studies: G228-alethinos; G1342-dikaios; G2920-krisis; TR-riyb-krisis

5. Tense / Aspect Map

Form Verse Morph Subject Function
ἤκουσα 5 V-AAI-1S John/seer bounded auditory report
λέγοντος 5 V-PAP-GSM angel of waters simultaneous speech-content participle
εἶ 5 V-PAI-2S God present stative identity: "you are"
ὢν 5 V-PAP-NSM God articular present participial title
ἦν 5 V-IAI-3S God past/imperfect existence title
ἔκρινας 5 V-AAI-2S God bounded judgment act
ἐξέχεαν 6 V-AAI-3P persecutors bounded bloodshed act
δέδωκας 6 V-RAI-2S God completed giving with standing result
πεῖν 6 V-2AAN recipients infinitive of purpose/result: drink
εἰσιν 6 V-PAI-3P persecutors/recipients present evaluative state
ἤκουσα 7 V-AAI-1S John/seer second bounded auditory report
λέγοντος 7 V-PAP-GSM altar-associated speaker simultaneous speech-content participle

6. What the Grammar Constrains

  • The speaker in v. 5 is grammatically personal: τοῦ ἀγγέλου ... λέγοντος.
  • The angel is genitively marked by relation to the waters: τῶν ὑδάτων.
  • God's righteousness is asserted as present identity (Δίκαιος εἶ) and grounded in a completed judgment (ἔκρινας).
  • Blood recompense is syntactically exact: αἷμα shed by the persecutors corresponds to αἷμα given by God to those same recipients.
  • The perfect δέδωκας is stronger than a simple aorist report; the giving is a completed act with an abiding judicial result.
  • The altar speech is grammatically weighty because θυσιαστηρίου is neuter but λέγοντος is masculine; either the text presupposes a personal speaker associated with the altar, or the altar is personified / treated according to sense.
  • The final declaration is a verbless predicate-adjective clause: ἀληθιναὶ καὶ δίκαιαι are fronted as the qualities of αἱ κρίσεις σου.

7. What the Grammar Does Not Decide

  • Whether "angel of the waters" should be identified with a particular angelic office beyond the phrase's genitive domain relation.
  • Whether the altar in v. 7 is itself personified, or whether the masculine participle reflects an omitted/variant personal speaker. The parser/KJV mismatch must be handled text-critically before that question is closed.
  • How the bowl-plague sequence maps chronologically. The grammar marks declaration, recompense, and altar ratification; it does not assign a historical date.
  • Whether ταῦτα in v. 5 should be rendered "these things" or adverbially "thus." Both are compatible with the accusative demonstrative in context.

8. Cross-References

Grammar library

Word studies

Gaps / candidate future entries

  • G5204 ὕδωρ — no standalone Greek word-study file found; only TR-mayim-hudor
  • G3741 ὅσιος — no standalone word-study file found
  • Predicate adjective / verbless equative clauses in Greek — no dedicated grammar entry found
  • Genitive after ἀκούω / heard-source genitive — no dedicated grammar entry found

Generated from: greek_parser.py --verse "REV 16:5", "REV 16:6", "REV 16:7"; greek_parser.py --similar "REV 16:5" / "REV 16:7"; KJV text from D:/bible/tools/data/kjv.txt; grammar-reference/greek library cross-check; word-studies library cross-check. Last updated: 2026-05-15