a. properly: φιάλην, by metonymy, of the container for the contained, Revelation 16:1-4, 8, 10, 12, 17; of wine, which when the vessel is burst runs out and is lost, Matthew 9:17; Mark 2:22 (R G L Tr marginal reading in brackets); Luke 5:37; used of other things usually guarded with care which are poured forth or cast out: of money, John 2:15; ἐξεχύθη τά σπλάγχνα, of the ruptured body of a man, Acts 1:18 (ἐξεχύθη ἡ κοιλία αὐτοῦ εἰς τήν γῆν, of a man thrust through with a sword, 2 Samuel 20:10). The phrase αἷμα έ᾿κχειν or ἐκχύν῾ν᾿ειν is frequently used of bloodshed: (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:50; Acts 22:20; Romans 3:15; Revelation 16:6a (where Tdf. αἵματα)); see αἷμα, 2 a. b. metaphorically, equivalent to to bestow or distribute largely (cf. Fritzsche on Tobit 4:17 and Sir. 1:8): τό πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον or ἀπό τοῦ πνεύματος, i. e. the abundant bestowal of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:33 from Joel 2:28, 29 (); ἐπί τινα, Acts 2:17; Acts 10:45; Titus 3:6; ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκκέχυται ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν διά πνεύματος ἁγίου, the Holy Spirit gives our souls a rich sense of the greatness of God's love for us, Romans 5:5; (ὀργήν, Sir. 33:8 (Sir. 36:8) (cf. Sir. 16:11)). The passive, like the Latineffundor,meeffundo, is used of those wire give themselves up to a thing, rush headlong into it, (γέλωτι, Alciphron; εἰς ἑταίρας, Polybius 32, 11, 4): absolutely τῇ πλάνη τοῦ Βαλαάμ μισθοῦ ἐξεχύθησαν, led astray by the hire of Balaam (i. e. by the same love of reward as Balaam) they gave themselves up, namely, to wickedness, Jude 1:11 (so ἐκχυθῆναι in Aristophanes vesp. 1469 is used absolutely of one giving himself up to joy. The passage in Jude is generally explained thus: for hire they gave themselves up to (R. V. ran riotously in) the error of Balaam; cf. Winer's Grammar, 206 (194) (and De Wette (edited by Brückner) at the passage)).

STRONGS NT 1632: ἐκχύνωἐκχύνω, and (L T Tr WH) ἐκχύννω, see ἐκχέω. (Compare: ὑπερχύνω ἐκχύνω.)

The verb translated “pour out” gathers into a single picture the release of a substance—or of life itself—from one realm into another. Whether blood, wine, coins, wrath, or the Spirit, ἐκχέω describes an intentional, decisive emptying that changes the condition of what receives the outflow.

Literal and Everyday Pouring

Luke 5:37–38 records that new wine “will burst the skins—the wine will be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.” John 2:15 narrates how Jesus “poured out the coins of the money-changers.” These scenes preserve the ordinary sense of the verb and establish a concrete backdrop for its theological uses.

Sacrificial Blood and Innocent Blood

The Synoptic Gospels employ the word for the shedding of righteous blood. Jesus laments “the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world” (Luke 11:50), and mourns the blood “of righteous Abel to Zechariah” (Matthew 23:35). Acts 22:20 recalls Stephen’s martyrdom: “the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed.” Scripture thus links the verb with judicial murder and martyrs’ testimony.

Christ’s Blood in the New Covenant

At the Last Supper the Lord interprets His impending death with the same term:
• Matthew 26:28 — “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
• Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20 repeat the wording.

The pouring points to substitutionary atonement; His life is released so that many might live. The participles in these verses emphasize an act already set in motion, guaranteeing its completion at Calvary.

Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Joel’s promise reaches fulfillment in Acts:
• Acts 2:17–18 — “I will pour out My Spirit on all people….”
• Acts 2:33 — the exalted Jesus “has poured out what you now see and hear.”
• Acts 10:45 — “The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.”
• Romans 5:5 — “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”
• Titus 3:6 — “This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

The verb links the crucified-risen Christ with ongoing Pentecostal blessing. The imagery conveys lavish generosity; the Spirit is not rationed but released in fullness. The tense of Acts 2:33 underscores a completed act with abiding results, rooting every subsequent revival in the once-for-all exaltation of Jesus.

Divine Wrath and Eschatological Bowls

Revelation 16 repeats the command seven times: the angels “poured out” their bowls “on the earth…into the sea…on the rivers…on the sun…on the throne of the beast…on the great river Euphrates…and into the air.” The same verb that announces saving grace also enforces final judgment. Justice is therefore as deliberate as mercy, and both proceed from the same sovereign hand.

Violence, Apostasy, and Self-Expenditure

Romans 3:15 cites Isaiah to describe sinners whose “feet are swift to shed blood,” portraying a life precipitously emptied in violence. Jude 11 warns of apostates who “have rushed headlong [poured themselves out] into the error of Balaam,” squandering themselves for profit. Acts 1:18 states that Judas fell and “his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out,” a grim counterpart to the noble self-giving of Christ.

Old Testament Foundations

The Septuagint uses ἐκχέω for libations, blood sacrifices, and oracular promises (e.g., Exodus 30:18; Joel 2:28). New Testament writers transplant that vocabulary, so that the cross fulfills sacrificial types, Pentecost fulfills prophetic hope, and Revelation fulfills covenantal curses.

Pastoral and Ethical Implications

1. Assurance: God has already “poured” His love into believers’ hearts (Romans 5:5); the completed act secures ongoing experience.
2. Mission: Acts 2 grounds universal evangelism in the universal outpouring—no ethnicity stands outside the reach of the Spirit.
3. Warning: Revelation 16 and Jude 11 sober the church; rebellion invites a corresponding outpouring of wrath.
4. Worship: The Eucharistic cup reminds the assembly at every table that Christ’s blood was poured out once for all, urging grateful obedience.

Summary

Across the New Testament ἐκχέω unites four great movements: innocent blood shed, Christ’s blood offered, the Spirit lavishly bestowed, and wrath unflinchingly executed. The same decisive verb therefore proclaims both the gospel’s saving abundance and the certainty of final judgment, calling hearers either to receive what God graciously pours out or to face what He must righteously pour out.