Revelation 12:3-4

12:3 Then ¹  another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. ²  12:4 Now ³  the dragon’s ⁴  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ⁵  the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:16-17

12:16 but ⁶  the earth came to her rescue; ⁷  the ground opened up ⁸  and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 12:17 So ⁹  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, ¹⁰  those who keep ¹¹  God’s commandments and hold to ¹²  the testimony about Jesus. ¹³  (12:18) And the dragon ¹⁴  stood ¹⁵  on the sand ¹⁶  of the seashore. ¹⁷ 

[12:3]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:3]  ² tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[12:4]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

[12:4]  ⁴ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:16]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:16]  ⁷ tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”

[12:16]  ⁸ tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).

[12:17]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

[12:17]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

[12:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “who obey.”

[12:17]  ¹² tn Grk “and having.”

[12:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).

[12:17]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:17]  ¹⁵ 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.”

[12:17]  ¹⁶ tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

[12:17]  ¹⁷ 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.