Amplified Bible
Revelation 6:12
12I looked when He (the Lamb) broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth [made] of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;
Revelation 6:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
- New International Version (NIV)I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,
- English Standard Version (ESV)When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,
- New King James Version (NKJV)I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
Context of Revelation 6:12
10They cried in a loud voice, saying, “O Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those [unregenerate ones] who dwell on the earth?” 11Then they were each given a white robe; and they were told to rest and wait quietly for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed. I looked when He (the Lamb) broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth [made] of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree shedding its late [summer] figs when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky was split [separated from the land] and rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island were dislodged and moved out of their places.
Read all of Revelation 6Revelation 6:12 word by word
Καὶ εἶδον ὅτε ἤνοιξεν τὴν σφραγῖδα τὴν ἕκτην, καὶ σεισμὸς μέγας ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἐγένετο μέλας ὡς σάκκος τρίχινος, καὶ ἡ σελήνη ὅλη ἐγένετο ὡς αἷμα,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- I beheldὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
- he had openedἀνοίγωanoigō · to openG455
- the sixthἕκτοςhektos · sixthG1623
- sealὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- sealσφραγίςsphragis · sealG4973
- there wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- a greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- earthquakeσεισμόςseismos · earthquakeG4578
- the sunἥλιοςhēlios · sunG2246
- blackμέλαςmelas · blackG3189
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- sackclothσάκκοςsakkos · sackclothG4526
- of hairτρίχινοςtrichinos · of hairG5155
- the moonσελήνηselēnē · moonG4582
- bloodαἷμαaima · bloodG129
Cross-references for Revelation 6:12
- Revelation 8:5So the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder and loud rumblings and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
- Revelation 11:13And in that [very] hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell and was destroyed; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest [who survived] were overcome with terror, and they glorified the God of heaven [as they recognized His awesome power].
- Revelation 16:18And there were flashes of lightning and loud rumblings and peals of thunder; and there was a massive earthquake—nothing like it has ever occurred since mankind originated on the earth, so severe and far-reaching was that earthquake.
- 1 Kings 19:11So He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by, and a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, [there was] an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
- Isaiah 29:6You will be punished by the Lord of hosts with thunder and earthquake and great noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
- Amos 1:1The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa, which he saw [in a divine revelation] concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
- Zechariah 14:5You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; and you will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones (believers, angels) with Him.
- Matthew 24:7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
- Matthew 27:54Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
- Matthew 28:2And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.
- Isaiah 13:9Listen carefully, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with wrath and raging anger, To make the land a horror [of devastation]; And He shall exterminate its sinners from it.
- Isaiah 24:23Then the full moon will be embarrassed and the sun ashamed, For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory and brilliance will shine before His elders.
- Isaiah 60:19The sun will no longer be your light by day, Nor shall the bright glow of the moon give light to you, But the Lord will be an everlasting light for you; And your God will be your glory and splendor.
- Ezekiel 32:7And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens [of Egypt] and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud And the moon will not give its light.
- Joel 2:10The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
- Joel 3:15The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
Commentaries on Revelation 6:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12The sixth seal - This seal also is opened and introduced by Jesus Christ alone. A great earthquake - A most stupendous change in the civil and religious constitution of the world. If it refer to Constantine the Great, the change that was made by his conversion to Christianity might be very properly represented under the emblem of an earthquake, and the other symbols mentioned in this and the following verses. The sun - the ancient pagan government of the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal - See the notes at Revelation 5:1; Revelation 6:1. And, lo, there was a great earthquake - Before endeavoring to ascertain to what the sixth seal was designed to refer, it is proper, as in the previous cases, to furnish a particular explanation of the meaning of the symbols. All the symbols represented in the opening of this seal denote consternation, commotion, changes; but still they are all…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 When the sixth seal was opened, there was a great earthquake. The foundations of churches and states would be terribly shaken. Such bold figurative descriptions of great changes abound in the prophecies of Scripture; for these events are emblems, and declare the end of the world and the day of judgment. Dread and terror would seize on all sorts of men. Neither grandeur, riches, valour, nor strength, can support men at that time. They would be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-14These violent and world-shaking signs are linked in Scripture to the day of the Lord. On this day, God’s judgment will disrupt the entire created order (see Isaiah 13:4–12; 34:1–4; Joel 2:1–32; Zephaniah 2:1–3; Mark 13:1–37).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. As Re 6:4, 6-8, the sword, famine, and pestilence, answer to Mt 24:6, 7; Re 6:9, 10, as to martyrdoms, answer to Mt 24:9, 10; so this passage, Re 6:12, 17, answers to Mt 24:29, 30, "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven; ... then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming"; imagery describing the portents of the immediate coming of the day of the…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 6:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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