Christian Standard Bible
Revelation 6:12
12Then I saw him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of hair; the entire 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 out with a loud voice, “Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 11So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been. Then I saw him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of hair; the entire moon became like blood; 13the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; 14the sky was split apart like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
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 8:5The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
- Revelation 11:13At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
- Revelation 16:18There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. And a severe earthquake occurred like no other since people have been on the earth, so great was the quake.
- 1 Kings 19:11Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.” At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. 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 Armies with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire.
- Amos 1:1The words of Amos, who was one of the sheep breeders from Tekoa — what he saw regarding Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
- Zechariah 14:5You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him.
- Matthew 24:7For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
- Matthew 27:54When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
- Matthew 28:2There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.
- Isaiah 13:9Look, the day of the Lord is coming — cruel, with fury and burning anger — to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners.
- Isaiah 24:23The moon will be put to shame and the sun disgraced, because the Lord of Armies will reign as king on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, and he will display his glory in the presence of his elders.
- Isaiah 60:19The sun will no longer be your light by day, and the brightness of the moon will not shine on you. The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
- Ezekiel 32:7“‘When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens 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 sky shakes. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars cease their shining.
- Joel 3:15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.
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
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries