Revelation 12:2-6

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

Revelation 12:13-17

12:13 Now 18  when the dragon realized 19  that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 12:14 But 20  the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, 21  to the place God 22  prepared for her, where she is taken care of – away from the presence of the serpent – for a time, times, and half a time. 23  12:15 Then 24  the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to 25  sweep her away by a flood, 12:16 but 26  the earth came to her rescue; 27  the ground opened up 28  and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 12:17 So 29  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, 30  those who keep 31  God’s commandments and hold to 32  the testimony about Jesus. 33  (12:18) And the dragon 34  stood 35  on the sand 36  of the seashore. 37 


tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

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.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

sn Diadem crowns were a type of crown used as a symbol of the highest ruling authority in a given area, and thus often associated with kingship.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the anticipated birth.

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.”

10 tn Grk “shepherd.”

11 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

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

sn An allusion to Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27; 19:15).

13 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

14 tn Grk “and the woman,” which would be somewhat redundant in English.

15 tn Or “desert.”

16 tn Grk “where she has there a place prepared by God.”

17 tn Grk “so they can take care of her.”

18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” because the clause it introduces is clearly resumptive.

19 tn Grk “saw.”

20 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

21 tn Or “desert.”

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

23 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.

sn The parallel statement in Rev 12:6 suggests that the phrase a time, times, and half a time equals 1,260 days (three and a half years of 360 days each).

24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

25 tn Grk “so that he might make her swept away.”

26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

27 tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”

28 tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).

29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

30 tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

31 tn Or “who obey.”

32 tn Grk “and having.”

33 tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).

34 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

35 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 syh) while the majority of mss (051 Ï vgmss syph 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.”

36 tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

37 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.