Genesis 3:15

3:15 And I will put hostility ¹  between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring; ² 

her offspring will attack ³  your head,

and ⁴  you ⁵  will attack her offspring’s heel.” ⁶ 

Acts 4:17-18

4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more ⁷  to anyone in this name.” 4:18 And they called them in and ordered ⁸  them not to speak or teach at all in the name ⁹  of Jesus.

Acts 5:33

5:33 Now when they heard this, they became furious ¹⁰  and wanted to execute them. ¹¹ 

Revelation 12:12-13

12:12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them!

But ¹²  woe to the earth and the sea

because the devil has come down to you!

He ¹³  is filled with terrible anger,

for he knows that he only has a little time!”

12:13 Now ¹⁴  when the dragon realized ¹⁵  that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

Revelation 12:17

12:17 So ¹⁶  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, ¹⁷  those who keep ¹⁸  God’s commandments and hold to ¹⁹  the testimony about Jesus. ²⁰  (12:18) And the dragon ²¹  stood ²²  on the sand ²³  of the seashore. ²⁴ 

¹ tn The Hebrew word translated “hostility” is derived from the root אֵיב (’ev, “to be hostile, to be an adversary [or enemy]”). The curse announces that there will be continuing hostility between the serpent and the woman. The serpent will now live in a “battle zone,” as it were.

² sn The Hebrew word translated “offspring” is a collective singular. The text anticipates the ongoing struggle between human beings (the woman’s offspring) and deadly poisonous snakes (the serpent’s offspring). An ancient Jewish interpretation of the passage states: “He made the serpent, cause of the deceit, press the earth with belly and flank, having bitterly driven him out. He aroused a dire enmity between them. The one guards his head to save it, the other his heel, for death is at hand in the proximity of men and malignant poisonous snakes.” See Sib. Or. 1:59-64. For a similar interpretation see Josephus, Ant. 1.1.4 (1.50-51).

³ tn Heb “he will attack [or “bruise”] you [on] the head.” The singular pronoun and verb agree grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “head” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A crushing blow to the head would be potentially fatal.

⁴ tn Or “but you will…”; or “as they attack your head, you will attack their heel.” The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) is understood as contrastive. Both clauses place the subject before the verb, a construction that is sometimes used to indicate synchronic action (see Judg 15:14).

⁵ sn You will attack her offspring’s heel. Though the conflict will actually involve the serpent’s offspring (snakes) and the woman’s offspring (human beings), v. 15b for rhetorical effect depicts the conflict as being between the serpent and the woman’s offspring, as if the serpent will outlive the woman. The statement is personalized for the sake of the addressee (the serpent) and reflects the ancient Semitic concept of corporate solidarity, which emphasizes the close relationship between a progenitor and his offspring. Note Gen 28:14, where the Lord says to Jacob, “Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you [second masculine singular] will spread out in all directions.” Jacob will “spread out” in all directions through his offspring, but the text states the matter as if this will happen to him personally.

⁶ tn Heb “you will attack him [on] the heel.” The verb (translated “attack”) is repeated here, a fact that is obscured by some translations (e.g., NIV “crush…strike”). The singular pronoun agrees grammatically with the collective singular noun “offspring.” For other examples of singular verb and pronominal forms being used with the collective singular “offspring,” see Gen 16:10; 22:17; 24:60. The word “heel” is an adverbial accusative, locating the blow. A bite on the heel from a poisonous serpent is potentially fatal.

⁷ tn Or “speak no longer.”

⁸ tn Or “commanded.”

⁹ sn In the name of Jesus. Once again, the “name” reflects the person. The person of Jesus and his authority is the “troubling” topic that, as far as the Jewish leadership is concerned, needs controlling.

¹⁰ sn The only other use of this verb for anger (furious) is Acts 7:54 after Stephen’s speech.

¹¹ sn Wanted to execute them. The charge would surely be capital insubordination (Exod 22:28).

¹² tn The word “But” is not in the Greek text, but the contrast is clearly implied. This is a case of asyndeton (lack of a connective).

¹³ tn Grk “and is filled,” a continuation of the previous sentence. Because English tends to use shorter sentences (especially when exclamations are involved), a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” because the clause it introduces is clearly resumptive.

¹⁵ tn Grk “saw.”

¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

¹⁷ tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

¹⁸ tn Or “who obey.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “and having.”

²⁰ tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).

²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²² tc Grk ἐστάθη (estaqh, “he stood”). The reading followed by the translation is attested by the better mss (Ì⁴⁷ א A C 1854 2344 2351 pc lat sy^h) while the majority of mss (051 Ï vg^mss sy^ph co) have the reading ἐστάθην (estaqhn, “I stood”). Thus, the majority of mss make the narrator, rather than the dragon of 12:17, the subject of the verb. The first person reading is most likely an assimilation to the following verb in 13:1, “I saw.” The reading “I stood” was introduced either by accident or to produce a smoother flow, giving the narrator a vantage point on the sea’s edge from which to observe the beast rising out of the sea in 13:1. But almost everywhere else in the book, the phrase καὶ εἶδον (kai eidon, “and I saw”) marks a transition to a new vision, without reference to the narrator’s activity. On both external and internal grounds, it is best to adopt the third person reading, “he stood.”

²³ tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

²⁴ sn The standard critical texts of the Greek NT, NA²⁷ and UBS⁴, both include this sentence as 12:18, as do the RSV and NRSV. Other modern translations like the NASB and NIV include the sentence at the beginning of 13:1; in these versions chap. 12 has only 17 verses.