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 

Matthew 8:29

8:29 They ⁷  cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! ⁸  Have you come here to torment us before the time?” ⁹ 

Luke 8:28

8:28 When he saw ¹⁰  Jesus, he cried out, fell ¹¹  down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, ¹²  Jesus, Son of the Most High ¹³  God! I beg you, do not torment ¹⁴  me!”

Romans 16:20

16:20 The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Hebrews 2:14

2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ¹⁵  their humanity, ¹⁶  so that through death he could destroy ¹⁷  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil),

Hebrews 2:2

2:2 For if the message spoken through angels ¹⁸  proved to be so firm that every violation ¹⁹  or disobedience received its just penalty,

Hebrews 2:4

2:4 while God confirmed their witness ²⁰  with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed ²¹  according to his will.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 3:8

3:8 “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness.

Jude 1:6

1:6 You also know that ²²  the angels who did not keep within their proper domain ²³  but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept ²⁴  in eternal chains ²⁵  in utter ²⁶  darkness, locked up ²⁷  for the judgment of the great Day.

Revelation 12:12

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

But ²⁸  woe to the earth and the sea

because the devil has come down to you!

He ²⁹  is filled with terrible anger,

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

Revelation 20:1-3

The Thousand Year Reign

20:1 Then ³⁰  I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding ³¹  in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 20:2 He ³²  seized the dragon – the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan – and tied him up for a thousand years. 20:3 The angel ³³  then ³⁴  threw him into the abyss and locked ³⁵  and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

[3:15]  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.

[3:15]  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).

[3:15]  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.

[3:15]  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).

[3:15]  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.

[3:15]  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.

[8:29]  ⁷ tn Grk “And behold, they cried out, saying.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[8:29]  ⁸ tn Grk “what to us and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti Jhmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave us alone….”

[8:29]  ⁹ sn There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.

[8:28]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “And seeing.” The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:28]  ¹¹ tn Grk “and fell,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[8:28]  ¹² tn Grk “What to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί (ti emoi kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the OT had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12; 2 Chr 35:21; 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his own, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13; Hos 14:8). These nuances were apparently expanded in Greek, but the basic notions of defensive hostility (option 1) and indifference or disengagement (option 2) are still present. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….”

[8:28]  ¹³ sn On the title Most High see Luke 1:35.

[8:28]  ¹⁴ sn The demons’ plea “do not torment me” is a recognition of Jesus’ inherent authority over evil forces. The request is that Jesus not bother them. There was an appointed time in which demons would face their judgment, and they seem to have viewed Jesus’ arrival on the scene as an illegitimate change in God’s plan regarding the time when their sentence would be executed.

[2:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

[2:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the same.”

[2:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”

[2:2]  ¹⁸ sn The message spoken through angels refers to the OT law, which according to Jewish tradition was mediated to Moses through angels (cf. Deut 33:2; Ps 68:17-18; Acts 7:38, 53; Gal 3:19; and Jub. 1:27, 29; Josephus, Ant. 15.5.3 [15.136]).

[2:2]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “through angels became valid and every violation.”

[2:4]  ²⁰ tn Grk “God bearing witness together” (the phrase “with them” is implied).

[2:4]  ²¹ tn Grk “and distributions of the Holy Spirit.”

[1:6]  ²² tn Grk “and.” Verse 6 is a continuation of the same sentence begun in v. 5. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:6]  ²³ tn Grk “who did not keep their own domain.”

[1:6]  ²⁴ sn There is an interesting play on words used in this verse. Because the angels did not keep their proper place, Jesus has kept them chained up in another place. The same verb keep is used in v. 1 to describe believers’ status before God and Christ.

[1:6]  ²⁵ sn In 2 Pet 2:4 a less common word for chains is used.

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn The word ζόφος (zofos, “utter, deepest darkness”) is used only five times in the NT: two in 2 Peter, two in Jude, and one in Hebrews. Jude 6 parallels 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 13 parallels 2 Pet 2:17.

[1:6]  ²⁷ tn The words “locked up” are not in Greek, but is expressed in English as a resumptive point after the double prepositional phrase (“in eternal chains in utter darkness”).

[12:12]  ²⁸ 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).

[12:12]  ²⁹ 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.

[20:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:1]  ³¹ tn The word “holding” is implied. The two clauses “having the key of the abyss” and “a huge chain in his hand” can be construed in two ways: (1) both are controlled by the participle ἔχοντα (econta) and both are modified by the phrase “in his hand” – “having in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.” (2) The participle ἔχοντα refers only to the key, and the phrase “in his hand” refers only to the chain – “having the key of the abyss and holding a huge chain in his hand.” Because of the stylistic tendency in Rev to use the verb ἔχω (ecw) to mean “hold (something)” and the phrase “in his hand” forming a “bracket” along with the verb ἔχω around both the phrases in question, the first option is preferred.

[20:2]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:3]  ³³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel introduced in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:3]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:3]  ³⁵ tn Or “and shut.” While the lexical force of the term is closer to “shut,” it is acceptable to render the verb ἔκλεισεν (ekleisen) as “locked” here in view of the mention of the key in the previous verse.