Revelation 8:12

Revelation 8:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
• New International Version (NIV)The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.

Context of Revelation 8:12

10The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters. 11The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter. The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way. 13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Revelation 8:12 word by word

Καὶ ὁ τέταρτος ἄγγελος ἐσάλπισεν, καὶ ἐπλήγη τὸ τρίτον τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῆς σελήνης καὶ τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀστέρων ἵνα σκοτισθῇ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡ ἡμέρα μὴ φάνῃ τὸ τρίτον αὐτῆς καὶ ἡ νὺξ ὁμοίως.¶Read the interlinear

• angelἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
• soundedσαλπίζωsalpizō · to sound a trumpetG4537
• thirdτρίτοςtritos · thirdG5154
• sunἥλιοςhēlios · sunG2246
• moonσελήνηselēnē · moonG4582
• starsἀστήρastēr · starG792
• were struckπλήσσωplēssō · to strikeG4141
• soἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• of them would be darkenedσκοτίζωskotizō · to darkenG4654
• and the dayἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• would not shineφαίνωphainō · to shine/appearG5316
• of it, and the nightνύξnux · nightG3571
• in the sameὁμοίωςhomoiōs · similarlyG3668

Cross-references for Revelation 8:12

• Revelation 16:8The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.
• Isaiah 13:10For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
• Isaiah 24:23Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.
• Jeremiah 4:23I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.
• Ezekiel 32:7And when I extinguish you, 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 2:10Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
• Amos 8:9It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon And make the earth dark in broad daylight.
• Matthew 24:29“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
• Matthew 27:45Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.
• Mark 13:24“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light,
• Mark 15:33When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.
• Luke 21:25“There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
• Luke 23:44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,
• Acts 2:20The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
• Exodus 10:21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:4in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Commentaries on Revelation 8:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12The third part of the sun - moon - stars, was smitten - Supposed to mean Rome, with her senates, consuls, etc., eclipsed by Odoacer, king of the Heruli, and Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, in the fifth century. But all this is uncertain.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12And the fourth angel sounded - See the notes at Revelation 8:6-7. And the third part of the sea was smitten - On the phrase the third part, see the notes on Revelation 8:7. The darkening of the heavenly luminaries is everywhere an emblem of any great calamity - as if the light of the sun, moon, and stars should be put out. See the notes on Revelation 6:12-13. There is no certain evidence that this refers to rulers, as many have supposed, or to anything…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 The first angel sounded the first trumpet, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood. A storm of heresies, a mixture of dreadful errors falling on the church, or a tempest of destruction. The second angel sounded, and a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood. By this mountain some understand leaders of the persecutions; others, Rome sacked by the Goths and Vandals, with…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12the fourth angel: On the fourth day of creation, God made the sun, the moon, and the stars (Genesis 1:14–19). the stars were darkened: This judgment replicates the ninth plague in Egypt (Exodus 10:21–23).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. third part--not a total obscuration as in the sixth seal (Re 6:12, 13). This partial obscuration, therefore, comes between the prayers of the martyrs under the fifth seal, and the last overwhelming judgments on the ungodly under the sixth seal, at the eve of Christ's coming. the night likewise--withdrew a third part of the light which the bright Eastern moon and stars ordinarily afford.Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 8:12

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Astronomy
• Darkness
• Eclipse
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Moon
• Stars
• Sun
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Ethics
• Literature, Sub-Apostolic
• Midian; Midianites
• Moon
• Revelation of John
• Text of the Old Testament

Commentaries on Revelation 8

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings