Revelation 12:4

12:4 Now ¹  the dragon’s ²  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ³  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 12:14

12:14 But ⁴  the woman was given the two wings of a giant eagle so that she could fly out into the wilderness, ⁵  to the place God ⁶  prepared for her, where she is taken care of – away from the presence of the serpent – for a time, times, and half a time. ⁷ 

Revelation 12:17

12:17 So ⁸  the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, ⁹  those who keep ¹⁰  God’s commandments and hold to ¹¹  the testimony about Jesus. ¹²  (12:18) And the dragon ¹³  stood ¹⁴  on the sand ¹⁵  of the seashore. ¹⁶ 

Revelation 18:19

18:19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, ¹⁷ 

“Woe, Woe, O great city –

in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth –

because in a single hour she has been destroyed!” ¹⁸ 

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¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

² tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

⁵ tn Or “desert.”

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

⁷ 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).

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.

⁹ tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).

¹⁰ tn Or “who obey.”

¹¹ tn Grk “and having.”

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

¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ 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.”

¹⁵ tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn Grk “with weeping and mourning, saying.” Here the participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.

¹⁸ tn On ἡρημώθη (Jhrhmwqh) L&N 20.41 states, “to suffer destruction, with the implication of being deserted and abandoned – ‘to be destroyed, to suffer destruction, to suffer desolation.’ ἐρημόομαι: μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ τοσοῦτος πλοῦτος ‘such great wealth has been destroyed within a single hour’ Re 18:17.”