Israel’s Redemption

27 On that day the Lord with his cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.^(A)

³ speak and say: Thus says the Lord God:

³ Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads.^{(A) 4} His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to deliver a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.^{(B) 5} And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule^[a] all the nations with a scepter of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne,^{(C) 6} and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.^(D)

Michael Defeats the Dragon

⁷ And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back,^{(E) 8} but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.^(F)

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven proclaiming,

The Dragon Fights Again on Earth

¹³ So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued^[c] the woman who had delivered the male child. ¹⁴ But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.^{(J) 15} Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood.^{(K) 16} But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was angry with the woman and went off to wage war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.^(L)

The First Beast

¹⁸ Then the dragon^[d] took his stand on the sand of the seashore. 13 ¹ And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.^{(M) 2} And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority.^(N)