Revelation 12:1-17

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12:1 Then ¹  a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. ²  12:2 She ³  was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling ⁴  to give birth. 12:3 Then ⁵  another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. ⁶  12:4 Now ⁷  the dragon’s ⁸  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ⁹  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. 12:5 So ¹⁰  the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, ¹¹  who is going to rule ¹²  over all the nations ¹³  with an iron rod. ¹⁴  Her ¹⁵  child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 12:6 and she ¹⁶  fled into the wilderness ¹⁷  where a place had been prepared for her ¹⁸  by God, so she could be taken care of ¹⁹  for 1,260 days.

War in Heaven

12:7 Then ²⁰  war broke out in heaven: Michael ²¹  and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 12:8 But ²²  the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, ²³  so there was no longer any place left ²⁴  in heaven for him and his angels. ²⁵  12:9 So ²⁶  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. 12:10 Then ²⁷  I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the ruling authority ²⁸  of his Christ, ²⁹  have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, ³⁰ 

the one who accuses them day and night ³¹  before our God,

has been thrown down.

12:11 But ³²  they overcame him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their lives ³³  so much that they were afraid to die.

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

But ³⁴  woe to the earth and the sea

because the devil has come down to you!

He ³⁵  is filled with terrible anger,

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

12:13 Now ³⁶  when the dragon realized ³⁷  that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 12:14 But ³⁸  the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, ³⁹  to the place God ⁴⁰  prepared for her, where she is taken care of – away from the presence of the serpent – for a time, times, and half a time. ⁴¹  12:15 Then ⁴²  the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to ⁴³  sweep her away by a flood, 12:16 but ⁴⁴  the earth came to her rescue; ⁴⁵  the ground opened up ⁴⁶  and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 12:17 So ⁴⁷  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, ⁴⁸  those who keep ⁴⁹  God’s commandments and hold to ⁵⁰  the testimony about Jesus. ⁵¹  (12:18) And the dragon ⁵²  stood ⁵³  on the sand ⁵⁴  of the seashore. ⁵⁵ 

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

[12:1]  ² sn Sun…moon…stars. This imagery is frequently identified with the nation Israel because of Joseph’s dream in Gen 37.

[12:2]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “and being tortured,” though βασανίζω (basanizw) in this context refers to birth pangs. BDAG 168 s.v. 2.b states, “Of birth-pangs (Anth. Pal. 9, 311 βάσανος has this mng.) Rv 12:2.” The καί (kai) has not been translated.

[12:3]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:3]  ⁶ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

[12:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:5]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the anticipated birth.

[12:5]  ¹¹ tn On this term BDAG 135 s.v. ἄρσην states: “male…The neut. ἄρσεν Rv 12:5, difft. vs. 13, comes fr. Is 66:7 and is in apposition to υἱόν. On the juxtaposition s. FBoll, ZNW 15, 1914, 253; BOlsson, Glotta 23, ’34, 112.”

[12:5]  ¹² tn Grk “shepherd.”

[12:5]  ¹³ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[12:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[12:5]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and the woman,” which would be somewhat redundant in English.

[12:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “desert.”

[12:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “where she has there a place prepared by God.”

[12:6]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “so they can take care of her.”

[12:7]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:7]  ²¹ sn The archangel Michael had a special role in protecting the nation of Israel in the OT (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; see also Jude 9).

[12:8]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the implied contrast.

[12:8]  ²³ tn The words “to prevail” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[12:8]  ²⁴ tn Grk “found.”

[12:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “for them”; the referent (the dragon and his angels, v. 7) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:9]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[12:10]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:10]  ²⁸ tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.

[12:10]  ²⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:10]  ³⁰ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.

[12:10]  ³¹ tn Or “who accuses them continually.”

[12:11]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

[12:11]  ³³ sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.

[12:12]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” because the clause it introduces is clearly resumptive.

[12:13]  ³⁷ tn Grk “saw.”

[12:14]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:14]  ³⁹ tn Or “desert.”

[12:14]  ⁴⁰ tn The word “God” is supplied based on the previous statements made concerning “the place prepared for the woman” in 12:6.

[12:14]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “so that he might make her swept away.”

[12:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”

[12:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).

[12:17]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

[12:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

[12:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “who obey.”

[12:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “and having.”

[12:17]  ⁵¹ 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]  ⁵² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:17]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

[12:17]  ⁵⁵ 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.