Revelation 12
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon
12 A great sign[a] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head.(A) 2 She was pregnant and cried out in labor and agony as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign[b] appeared in heaven: There was a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns,(B) and on his heads were seven diadems.[c] 4 His tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth.(C) And the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she did give birth he might devour her child. 5 But she gave birth to a Son—a male who is going to shepherd[d] all nations with an iron scepter(D)—and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God,(E) to be fed there[e] for 1,260 days.(F)
The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven
7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael(G) and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent,(H) who is called the Devil[f] and Satan,[g](I) the one who deceives the whole world.(J) He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of His Messiah
have now come,
because the accuser(K) of our brothers
has been thrown out:
the one who accuses them
before our God day and night.
11 They conquered him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not love their lives
in the face of death.(L)
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them!
Woe to the earth and the sea,
for the Devil has come down to you
with great fury,
because he knows he has a short time.
The Woman Persecuted
13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown to earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was fed for a time, times, and half a time.[h](M) 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away in a torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and left to wage war(N) against the rest of her offspring[i]—those who keep God’s commands and have the testimony about Jesus.(O) 18 He[j] stood on the sand of the sea.[k]
Footnotes
- Revelation 12:1 Or great symbolic display; see Rv 12:3
- Revelation 12:3 Or another symbolic display
- Revelation 12:3 Or crowns
- Revelation 12:5 Or rule
- Revelation 12:6 Lit God, that they might feed her there
- Revelation 12:9 In Gk, diabolos means slanderer.
- Revelation 12:9 In Hb, Satan means adversary.
- Revelation 12:14 This expression, occurring in Dn 7:25; 12:7, = 3½ years or 42 months (Rv 11:2; 13:5) or 1,260 days (Rv 11:3).
- Revelation 12:17 Or seed
- Revelation 12:18 Other mss read I. “He” is apparently a reference to the dragon.
- Revelation 12:18 Some translations put Rv 12:18 either in Rv 12:17 or Rv 13:1.
Revelation 12
The Message
The Woman, Her Son, and the Dragon
12 1-2 A great Sign appeared in Heaven: a Woman dressed all in sunlight, standing on the moon, and crowned with Twelve Stars. She was giving birth to a Child and cried out in the pain of childbirth.
3-4 And then another Sign alongside the first: a huge and fiery Dragon! It had seven heads and ten horns, a crown on each of the seven heads. With one flick of its tail it knocked a third of the Stars from the sky and dumped them on earth. The Dragon crouched before the Woman in childbirth, poised to eat up the Child when it came.
5-6 The Woman gave birth to a Son who will shepherd all nations with an iron rod. Her Son was seized and placed safely before God on his Throne. The Woman herself escaped to the desert to a place of safety prepared by God, all comforts provided her for 1,260 days.
7-12 War broke out in Heaven. Michael and his Angels fought the Dragon. The Dragon and his Angels fought back, but were no match for Michael. They were cleared out of Heaven, not a sign of them left. The great Dragon—ancient Serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, the one who led the whole earth astray—thrown out, and all his Angels thrown out with him, thrown down to earth. Then I heard a strong voice out of Heaven saying,
Salvation and power are established!
Kingdom of our God, authority of his Messiah!
The Accuser of our brothers and sisters thrown out,
who accused them day and night before God.
They defeated him through the blood of the Lamb
and the bold word of their witness.
They weren’t in love with themselves;
they were willing to die for Christ.
So rejoice, O Heavens, and all who live there,
but doom to earth and sea,
For the Devil’s come down on you with both feet;
he’s had a great fall;
He’s wild and raging with anger;
he hasn’t much time and he knows it.
13-17 When the Dragon saw he’d been thrown to earth, he went after the Woman who had given birth to the Man-Child. The Woman was given wings of a great eagle to fly to a place in the desert to be kept in safety and comfort for a time and times and half a time, safe and sound from the Serpent. The Serpent vomited a river of water to swamp and drown her, but earth came to her help, swallowing the water the Dragon spewed from its mouth. Helpless with rage, the Dragon raged at the Woman, then went off to make war with the rest of her children, the children who keep God’s commands and hold firm to the witness of Jesus.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson