Revelation 12
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 12
The Woman and the Dragon. 1 [a]A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman[b] clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.(A) 2 She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.[c] 3 Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon,[d] with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems.(B) 4 Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.(C) 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.[e] Her child was caught up to God and his throne.(D) 6 The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days.[f]
7 [g]Then war broke out in heaven; Michael[h] and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, 8 but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,[i] who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it.(E)
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser[j] of our brothers is cast out,
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;
love for life did not deter them from death.
12 Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
But woe to you, earth and sea,
for the Devil has come down to you in great fury,
for he knows he has but a short time.”
13 When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.(F) 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle,[k] so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care of for a year, two years, and a half-year.(G) 15 The serpent,[l] however, spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. 16 But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth. 17 Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus.[m](H) 18 It took its position[n] on the sand of the sea.
Footnotes
- 12:1–14:20 This central section of Revelation portrays the power of evil, represented by a dragon, in opposition to God and his people. First, the dragon pursues the woman about to give birth, but her son is saved and “caught up to God and his throne” (Rev 12:5). Then Michael and his angels cast the dragon and his angels out of heaven (Rev 12:7–9). After this, the dragon tries to attack the boy indirectly by attacking members of his church (Rev 12:13–17). A beast, symbolizing the Roman empire, then becomes the dragon’s agent, mortally wounded but restored to life and worshiped by all the world (Rev 13:1–10). A second beast arises from the land, symbolizing the antichrist, which leads people astray by its prodigies to idolize the first beast (Rev 13:11–18). This is followed by a vision of the Lamb and his faithful ones, and the proclamation of imminent judgment upon the world in terms of the wine of God’s wrath (Rev 14:1–20).
- 12:1–6 The woman adorned with the sun, the moon, and the stars (images taken from Gn 37:9–10) symbolizes God’s people in the Old and the New Testament. The Israel of old gave birth to the Messiah (Rev 12:5) and then became the new Israel, the church, which suffers persecution by the dragon (Rev 12:6, 13–17); cf. Is 50:1; 66:7; Jer 50:12. This corresponds to a widespread myth throughout the ancient world that a goddess pregnant with a savior was pursued by a horrible monster; by miraculous intervention, she bore a son who then killed the monster.
- 12:2 Because of Eve’s sin, the woman gives birth in distress and pain (Gn 3:16; cf. Is 66:7–14).
- 12:3 Huge red dragon: the Devil or Satan (cf. Rev 12:9; 20:2), symbol of the forces of evil, a mythical monster known also as Leviathan (Ps 74:13–14) or Rahab (Jb 26:12–13; Ps 89:11). Seven diadems: these are symbolic of the fullness of the dragon’s sovereignty over the kingdoms of this world; cf. Christ with many diadems (Rev 19:12).
- 12:5 Rule…iron rod: fulfilled in Rev 19:15; cf. Ps 2:9. Was caught up to God: reference to Christ’s ascension.
- 12:6 God protects the persecuted church in the desert, the traditional Old Testament place of refuge for the afflicted, according to the typology of the Exodus; see note on Rev 11:2.
- 12:7–12 Michael, mentioned only here in Revelation, wins a victory over the dragon. A hymn of praise follows.
- 12:7 Michael: the archangel, guardian and champion of Israel; cf. Dn 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9. In Hebrew, the name Michael means “Who can compare with God?”; cf. Rev 13:4.
- 12:9 The ancient serpent: who seduced Eve (Gn 3:1–6), mother of the human race; cf. Rev 20:2; Eph 6:11–12. Was thrown down: allusion to the expulsion of Satan from heaven; cf. Lk 10:18.
- 12:10 The accuser: the meaning of the Hebrew word “Satan,” found in Rev 12:9; Jb 1–2; Zec 3:1; 1 Chr 21:1; he continues to accuse Christ’s disciples.
- 12:14 Great eagle: symbol of the power and swiftness of divine help; cf. Ex 19:4; Dt 32:11; Is 40:31.
- 12:15 The serpent is depicted as the sea monster; cf. Rev 13:1; Is 27:1; Ez 32:2; Ps 74:13–14.
- 12:17 Although the church is protected by God’s special providence (Rev 12:16), the individual Christian is to expect persecution and suffering.
- 12:18 It took its position: many later manuscripts and versions read “I took my position,” thus connecting the sentence to the following paragraph.
Revelation 12
English Standard Version
The Woman and the Dragon
12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman (A)clothed with (B)the sun, with (C)the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and (D)was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great (E)red dragon, (F)with seven heads and (G)ten horns, and on his heads (H)seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down (I)a third of the stars of heaven and (J)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 (K)he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, (L)one who is to rule[a] all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was (M)caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for (N)1,260 days.
Satan Thrown Down to Earth
7 Now war arose in heaven, (O)Michael and (P)his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And (Q)the great dragon was thrown down, (R)that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, (S)the deceiver of the whole world—(T)he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now (U)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[b] has been thrown down, (V)who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And (W)they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for (X)they loved not their lives (Y)even unto death. 12 Therefore, (Z)rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But (AA)woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because (AB)he knows that his time is short!”
13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued (AC)the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two (AD)wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent (AE)into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished (AF)for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water (AG)like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But 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. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off (AH)to make war on the rest of (AI)her offspring, (AJ)on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to (AK)the testimony of Jesus. And he stood[c] on the sand of the sea.
Footnotes
- Revelation 12:5 Greek shepherd
- Revelation 12:10 Or brothers and sisters
- Revelation 12:17 Some manuscripts And I stood, connecting the sentence with 13:1
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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