The opening of the sixth seal sets off a series of eschatological events (6.12-17); after an interlude (7.1-17) the seventh seal is broken (8.1).

When he opened: it is well to make the subject explicit, “When the Lamb opened.”

I looked, and behold: see 4.1. Revised Standard Version translates a Greek text that has behold (or “lo,” as in 4.1); this word is lacking in most manuscripts, and most modern translations do not include it. New Revised Standard Version has “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked….”

There was a great earthquake: earthquakes are frequently one of the great events marking the end of the age (see Isa 29.6; Joel 2.10; Hag 2.6; Mark 13.8). They are caused by God as a prelude to the Last Judgment. In languages that have no specific word for earthquakes, something like “a violent shaking of the earth (or, ground)” may be said.

The sun became black as sackcloth: this means that the sun stopped shining (see Isa 13.10; Ezek 32.7-8; Joel 2.10; Amos 8.9; Mark 13.24). Sackcloth is a coarse black cloth that was worn in times of mourning (see Isa 50.3). Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje translate here “a mourning garment,” “mourning clothes.” In certain languages the figure of sackcloth will be unnatural. In such cases one may say, for example, “the sun stopped shining and there was complete darkness” or “the sun became dark as night.”

The full moon became like blood: the moon turned completely red, as red as blood (see the quotation of Joel 2.31 in Acts 2.20). The translation should not say, or imply, that the moon became a liquid solution, like blood. The color chosen by translators should if possible be a dark red bordering on red purple. Translators in languages that have terms like “blood red” or “blood color” should use those. One may also translate became like blood as “turn red like blood.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .