Revelation 12:9-12
Context12:9 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. 12:10 Then 2 I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,
“The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the ruling authority 3 of his Christ, 4 have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, 5
the one who accuses them day and night 6 before our God,
has been thrown down.
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives 8 so much that they were afraid to die.
12:12 Therefore you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them!
But 9 woe to the earth and the sea
because the devil has come down to you!
He 10 is filled with terrible anger,
for he knows that he only has a little time!”
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.
2 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
3 tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.
4 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
5 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.
6 tn Or “who accuses them continually.”
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
8 sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.
9 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).
10 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.