Revised Literal Translation
Revelation 6:12
12And 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;
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
10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. 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; 13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were 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
- 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 8:5And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
- Revelation 11:13And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
- Revelation 16:18And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
- 1 Kings 19:11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Yhwh. And, behold, Yhwh passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before Yhwh; but Yhwh was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Yhwh was not in the earthquake:
- Isaiah 29:6Thou shalt be visited of Yhwh of Armies with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
- Amos 1:1The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw 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 14:5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: And Yhwh my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
- Matthew 24:7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
- Matthew 27:54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
- Matthew 28:2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
- Isaiah 13:9Behold, the day of Yhwh cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
- Isaiah 24:23Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when Yhwh of Armies shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
- Isaiah 60:19The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but Yhwh shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
- Ezekiel 32:7And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
- Joel 2:10The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
- Joel 3:15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw 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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries