He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit: it is often better to say, simply, “he (or, the star) opened (or, unlocked) the abyss,” “… the entrance to the abyss,” or “… the entrance to the very deep pit.”

And from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace: it is not necessary to represent the literal form of the Greek text, which is quite redundant. Something like the following is satisfactory: “and smoke came pouring out, like the smoke from a large furnace.” Presumably the smoke came from the fire in the abyss, the fire that burns in Gehenna. A great furnace: in cultures that do not have large wood- or coal-burning furnaces for baking bread, pottery, or even for smelting metals such as iron, there may be specialized vocabulary for big ovens for cooking, or pits dug in the ground for roasting pigs or other animals. Such terms may be used here. This clause may also be expressed as “and smoke came pouring out of the pit, just like smoke coming out of a pit dug in the ground to roast animals.” It is important to avoid terms used for the type of stove to heat a home.

The sun and the air were darkened: there was so much smoke, and it was so thick, that it filled the air and blocked out the sunshine. The text does not mean that the sun quit shining; rather, its rays could not penetrate the smoke, and all was dark. One may also say “the smoke blocked out the rays of the sun” or “the smoke did not let the rays of the sun shine through.”

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 .