Revelation 12:9

12:9 So ¹  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.

Revelation 12:12-17

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

But ²  woe to the earth and the sea

because the devil has come down to you!

He ³  is filled with terrible anger,

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

12:13 Now ⁴  when the dragon realized ⁵  that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 12:14 But ⁶  the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, ⁷  to the place God ⁸  prepared for her, where she is taken care of – away from the presence of the serpent – for a time, times, and half a time. ⁹  12:15 Then ¹⁰  the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to ¹¹  sweep her away by a flood, 12:16 but ¹²  the earth came to her rescue; ¹³  the ground opened up ¹⁴  and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 12:17 So ¹⁵  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, ¹⁶  those who keep ¹⁷  God’s commandments and hold to ¹⁸  the testimony about Jesus. ¹⁹  (12:18) And the dragon ²⁰  stood ²¹  on the sand ²²  of the seashore. ²³ 

[12:9]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[12:12]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[12:13]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” because the clause it introduces is clearly resumptive.

[12:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “saw.”

[12:14]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:14]  ⁷ tn Or “desert.”

[12:14]  ⁸ tn The word “God” is supplied based on the previous statements made concerning “the place prepared for the woman” in 12:6.

[12:14]  ⁹ 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.

[12:15]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “so that he might make her swept away.”

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

[12:16]  ¹³ tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”

[12:16]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).

[12:17]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

[12:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

[12:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “who obey.”

[12:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and having.”

[12:17]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:17]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

[12:17]  ²³ 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.