Revelation 6:12

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

10These believers called out loudly, ‘Lord, you have all authority. You are completely good. You always do what is right. When will you decide to judge the people who live on the earth? Do not wait! You should quickly punish the people who killed us!’ 11Then each believer received white clothes. God told them to wait for a short time more. They must wait until other believers on earth also died. These believers are also servants of God. God will wait until people kill those believers too. Then the number of them will be complete. I watched again. I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal. Then the ground shook with a great earthquake. The sun became black like thick black cloth. The whole moon became red like blood. 13The stars in the sky fell to the earth. They fell like fruits fall from a tree when a strong wind blows. 14The sky divided into two parts. It rolled up like a piece of paper. Every mountain and every island moved away from its place.

Revelation 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 8:5Then the angel took the gold bowl and he filled it with fire from the altar. Then he threw it all down onto the earth. There were loud noises and the sound of thunder. There was bright lightning, like a very bad storm. The earth shook with an earthquake.
• Revelation 11:13At the same time the ground shook with a strong earthquake. One in every ten buildings in the city fell down. 7,000 people died because of the earthquake. The people who were still alive became very afraid. They praised the God of heaven and said that he is very powerful.
• Revelation 16:18There was a great storm, with bright lightning and loud noises of thunder. The ground shook with a strong earthquake. The earthquake was stronger than anything that had happened since people first lived on the earth.
• 1 Kings 19:11The Lord said, ‘Go out from the cave and stand on the mountain, in front of me. I, the Lord, will pass in front of you.’ Then a very strong wind broke the mountain apart. It broke the rocks into pieces as the Lord came near. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake.
• Isaiah 29:6The Lord Almighty will come with great power. He will come with thunder, earthquake and a loud noise. There will be a great storm with strong winds and a fire that burns up everything.
• Amos 1:1Amos was one of the shepherds who lived in the town of Tekoa. God spoke to him. He showed Amos the things that would happen to the people of Israel. God did that two years before the earthquake came. It was during the time that Uzziah was the king of Judah, and Joash's son, Jeroboam, was the king of Israel. This book tells about the message that Amos received from God.
• Zechariah 14:5In the time of Uzziah, king of Judah, you ran away when the earth moved. You will do this again. Then the Lord will come. And all those who are holy will come with him.
• Matthew 24:7People in one country will attack the people in another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies. In some places, people will be hungry, with no food. The ground will shake in many different places.
• Matthew 27:54The captain and his soldiers had been watching Jesus. They saw the ground shaking. They saw everything that had happened. They were very frightened and they said, ‘It must be true! This man really was the Son of God.’
• Matthew 28:2At that moment, the ground moved about very strongly. One of the Lord God's angels came from heaven. He went to the rock. He rolled the big stone away from the hole and then he sat on top of it.
• Isaiah 13:9Look! The day of the Lord will happen soon! It will be a cruel day. The Lord will punish his enemies with great anger. He will destroy the whole land, as well as all the sinners in it.
• Isaiah 24:23The moon will hide its face in shame. The bright light of the sun will become dark. Yes, the Lord Almighty will become king on Mount Zion. He will rule with great power in Jerusalem. The leaders of the people will see his great glory.
• Isaiah 60:19You will no longer need the sun to give you light in the day again. You will not need the moon to shine at night. Instead, the Lord will be the light that shines on you for ever. Yes, your God will be the light that brings you honour.
• Ezekiel 32:7When I completely destroy you, I will cover the sky and make the stars become dark. I will cover the sun with a cloud. The moon will no longer give any light.
• Joel 2:10The earth in front of them moves. The sky itself moves. The sun and moon are dark and the stars do not give any light.
• Joel 3:15The sun and moon will become dark. The stars will not shine.

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

• Astronomy
• Earthquakes
• Eclipse
• Heaven
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Moon
• Sun
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Conquer
• Hurt
• Mighty
• Shake
• Ascension
• Astronomy
• Color; Colors
• East, Children of the
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Ethics

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