12:43 “When 4 an unclean spirit 5 goes out of a person, 6 it passes through waterless places 7 looking for rest but 8 does not find it.
12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His 9 disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat 10 and eat them.
5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
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. 12:14 But 16 the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, 17 to the place God 18 prepared for her, where she is taken care of – away from the presence of the serpent – for a time, times, and half a time. 19 12:15 Then 20 the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to 21 sweep her away by a flood, 12:16 but 22 the earth came to her rescue; 23 the ground opened up 24 and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 12:17 So 25 the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, 26 those who keep 27 God’s commandments and hold to 28 the testimony about Jesus. 29 (12:18) And the dragon 30 stood 31 on the sand 32 of the seashore. 33
1 sn The stem used here (Hitpael) with the verb “walk” (הָלַךְ, halakh) suggests the exercise of dominion (cf. Gen 13:17; Job 1:7; 2:2-3; Ezek 28:14; Zech 6:7). The
2 sn The angel of the
3 tn The present translation takes אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) to be a descriptive of all the horses – white, black, red, and spotted (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).
4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
5 sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.
6 tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females. This same use occurs in v. 45.
7 sn The background for the reference to waterless places is not entirely clear, though some Jewish texts suggest spirits must have a place to dwell, but not with water (Luke 8:29-31; Tob 8:3). Some suggest that the image of the desert or deserted cities as the places demons dwell is where this idea started (Isa 13:21; 34:14).
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
9 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
10 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.
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 “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
17 tn Or “desert.”
18 tn The word “God” is supplied based on the previous statements made concerning “the place prepared for the woman” in 12:6.
19 tc The reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou) is lacking in the important uncial C. Its inclusion, however, is supported by {Ì47 א A and the rest of the ms tradition}. There is apparently no reason for the scribe of C to intentionally omit the phrase, and the fact that the word “time” (καιρὸν καὶ καιρούς, kairon kai kairou") appears twice before may indicate a scribal oversight.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
21 tn Grk “so that he might make her swept away.”
22 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
23 tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”
24 tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.
26 tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).
27 tn Or “who obey.”
28 tn Grk “and having.”
29 tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).
30 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 tc Grk ἐστάθη (estaqh, “he stood”). The reading followed by the translation is attested by the better
32 tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).
33 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.
34 tn Or “mislead.”
35 sn The battle with Gog and Magog is described in the OT in Ezek 38:1-39:20.
36 tn Grk “of whom the number of them [is] like the sand of the sea” (an allusion to Isa 10:22).