Revelation 12:16-18
New English Translation
16 but[a] the earth came to her rescue;[b] the ground opened up[c] and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So[d] the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children,[e] those who keep[f] God’s commandments and hold to[g] the testimony about Jesus.[h] 18 And the dragon[i] stood[j] on the sand[k] of the seashore.[l]
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- Revelation 12:16 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
- Revelation 12:16 tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”
- Revelation 12:16 tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).
- Revelation 12:17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.
- Revelation 12:17 tn Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).
- Revelation 12:17 tn Or “who obey.”
- Revelation 12:17 tn Grk “and having.”
- Revelation 12:17 tn Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).
- Revelation 12:18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Revelation 12:18 tc Grk ἐστάθη (estathē, “he stood”). The reading followed by the translation is attested by the better mss (P47 א A C 1854 2344 2351 lat syh) while the majority of mss (051 M vgmss syph co) have the reading ἐστάθην (estathēn, “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.”
- Revelation 12:18 tn Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).
- Revelation 12:18 sn The standard critical texts of the Greek NT, NA28 and UBS5, 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.
Revelation 12:16-17
King James Version
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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