Revelation 12
12
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
1A great sign#12:1 Or great symbolic display; see Rv 12:3 appeared in heaven:#Mt 24:30 a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.#Gn 37:9–10 2She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth.#Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; Jr 22:23 3Then another sign#12:3 Or another symbolic display appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon#Rv 13:2,4,11; 20:2 having seven heads and ten horns,#Dn 7:7,20,24; Rv 13:1; 17:3–18 and on its heads were seven crowns.#12:3 Or diadems 4Its tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth.#Dn 8:10; Rv 8:7,12 And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth it might devour her child.#Mt 2:16 5She gave birth to a Son, a male who is going to rule#12:5 Or shepherd all nations with an iron rod.#Ps 2:7–9; Rv 2:27; 19:15 Her child was caught up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God,#Ex 16:4; 1Kg 19:3–8; Hs 2:14 to be nourished there#12:6 Or God, that they might feed her there for 1,260 days.#Dt 1:31; 2:7; Dn 12:11; Rv 11:2–3; 12:14; 13:5
The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven
7Then war broke out in heaven: Michael#Dn 10:13,21; 12:1; Jd 9 and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8but he could not prevail,#1Sm 2:9; Ps 21:11; Jr 20:11 and there was no place for them in heaven any longer.#Jb 2:1 9So the great dragon was thrown out — the ancient serpent,#Gn 3:1 who is called the devil and Satan,#Lk 10:18; Rm 16:20; Rv 2:9; 3:9; 20:2,7 the one who deceives the whole world.#Rv 13:14; 20:3,8,10 He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.#Mt 25:41; Lk 10:18; Jn 12:31 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say,
The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ
have now come,#Rv 11:17; 19:1
because the accuser#Jb 1:6–12; 2:1–5; Zch 3:1; Rm 8:33–34 of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them
before our God day and night,
has been thrown down.
11They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb#1Pt 1:19; Rv 5:9; 7:14
and by the word of their testimony;#Rv 6:9
for they did not love their lives
to the point of death.#Lk 14:26; Jn 12:25; Heb 11:32–37; Rv 2:10
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!#Ps 96:11; Is 49:13
Woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows his time is short.
The Woman Persecuted
13When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecuted#12:13 Or pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The woman was given two wings of a great eagle,#Ex 19:4; Dt 32:10–11; Is 40:31 so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time.#Dn 7:25; 12:7; Rv 11:2; 13:5 15From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war#Rv 11:7; 13:7 against the rest of her offspring#12:17 Or seed#Gn 3:15 — those who keep the commands of God#1Co 7:19 and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.#Rv 1:2,9; 19:10; 20:4
The Beast from the Sea
18The dragon#12:18 Or he; other mss read I stood on the sand of the sea.#12:18 Some translations put Rv 12:18 either in Rv 12:17 or Rv 13:1.
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Revelation 12: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Revelation 12
12
The Woman and the Dragon
1And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman #[Ps. 104:2] clothed with #[Song 6:10]the sun, with #[Song 6:10]the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2She was pregnant and #[Isa. 66:7-10; Mic. 4:10]was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great #[ch. 17:3; Isa. 27:1] red dragon, #ch. 13:1; 17:9, 12 with seven heads and #Dan. 7:7 ten horns, and on his heads #[ch. 19:12]seven diadems. 4His tail swept down #See ch. 8:7 a third of the stars of heaven and #Dan. 8:10 cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child #[Matt. 2:16]he might devour it. 5She gave birth to a male child, #Matt. 2:6; See ch. 2:27 one who is to rule#12:5 Greek shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was #See 2 Cor. 12:2caught up to God and to his throne, 6and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for #ch. 11:2; 13:51,260 days.
Satan Thrown Down to Earth
7Now war arose in heaven, #See Jude 9 Michael and #See Matt. 25:41his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9And #Luke 10:18; John 12:31 the great dragon was thrown down, #ch. 20:2; Gen. 3:1 that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, #ch. 20:3, 10; [ch. 13:14; John 8:44] the deceiver of the whole world—#See ch. 9:1he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now #ch. 7:10; 19:1 the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers#12:10 Or brothers and sisters has been thrown down, #Job 1:9; 2:5; Zech. 3:1who accuses them day and night before our God. 11And #ch. 15:2; [Rom. 16:20]; See John 16:33 they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for #Luke 14:26; John 12:25 they loved not their lives #ch. 2:10even unto death. 12Therefore, #ch. 18:20; Ps. 96:11; Isa. 44:23; 49:13 rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But #ch. 8:13 woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because #[Matt. 8:29]; See ch. 10:6he knows that his time is short!”
13And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued #ver. 5the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14But the woman was given the two #See Ex. 19:4 wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent #ver. 6 into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished #Dan. 7:25; 12:7; See ver. 6for a time, and times, and half a time. 15The serpent poured water #[Isa. 59:19]like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off #ch. 11:7; 13:7 to make war on the rest of #Gen. 3:15 her offspring, #ch. 14:12; See 1 John 2:3 on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to #ch. 1:2; 6:9; 19:10the testimony of Jesus. And he stood#12:17 Some manuscripts And I stood, connecting the sentence with 13:1 on the sand of the sea.
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