From the early Church Fathers to now.
5 Patristic · 1 Medieval
“And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”
“The rivers and fountains of waters signify the teachers of the divine Scriptures who instruct others but turn themselves away from the way of truth. Indeed, the name Wormwood indicates either the bitterness or the sweetness of sins, which give a present sweetness to those who desire them but afterwards change themselves into bitterness.”
“A third part of humankind was made like the star that fell upon it.… Many die from the waters. This can manifestly be interpreted to refer to those who are rebaptized.”
“Since the ruin of those who are great often confuses many, it says that the star fell upon part of the rivers and fountains, and that its name was Wormwood because of its great bitterness. We know that many are weakened by the fall of such persons and are corrupted by an evil imitation of their teaching. [The star] is rightly compared with wormwood, since a small amount of bitterness, when mixed with that which is sweet, will make the whole bitter. Elsewhere the Scriptures make the same point: "I planted you as a chosen vine; how did you turn into the bitterness of the vine of another?"”
“And many men died from the waters. For many (as the Apostle says) follow their luxuries, through whom the way of truth is blasphemed (II Pet. II), yet for the people of God, as Moses teaches, every wave of the waters is drinkable.”
“And the name of the star is called Wormwood. Because the Devil withdrew from the sweetness of truth to turn into the bitterness of falsehood, it is right for him to be allotted the name of Wormwood. Then, since a great many people perish from the examples of the wicked, it is fittingly said after that, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. Indeed when fleshly men perish spiritually for having been enticed by the doctrines of wicked people or the examples of their works, it is as if they died of bitter waters.”
“Naomi, who long ago suffered many afflictions concerning her children and other misfortunes, was called Bitter. (Ruth 1:20) Bitterness serves as a symbol of the remaining extraordinary hardships. This bitterness is what we sinners experienced at that time, becoming bitter over the glory of the saints, because, indeed, although such good things were prepared for humanity, we ourselves exchanged the present for what was to come.”
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.