Wahyu 12:1-7

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12:1 Then ¹  a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. ²  12:2 She ³  was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling ⁴  to give birth. 12:3 Then ⁵  another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. ⁶  12:4 Now ⁷  the dragon’s ⁸  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ⁹  the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 12:5 So ¹⁰  the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, ¹¹  who is going to rule ¹²  over all the nations ¹³  with an iron rod. ¹⁴  Her ¹⁵  child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 12:6 and she ¹⁶  fled into the wilderness ¹⁷  where a place had been prepared for her ¹⁸  by God, so she could be taken care of ¹⁹  for 1,260 days.

War in Heaven

12:7 Then ²⁰  war broke out in heaven: Michael ²¹  and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.

Wahyu 12:9-10

12:9 So ²²  that huge dragon – the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world – was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. 12:10 Then ²³  I heard a loud voice in heaven saying,

“The salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the ruling authority ²⁴  of his Christ, ²⁵  have now come,

because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, ²⁶ 

the one who accuses them day and night ²⁷  before our God,

has been thrown down.

[12:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:1]  ² sn Sun…moon…stars. This imagery is frequently identified with the nation Israel because of Joseph’s dream in Gen 37.

[12:2]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “and being tortured,” though βασανίζω (basanizw) in this context refers to birth pangs. BDAG 168 s.v. 2.b states, “Of birth-pangs (Anth. Pal. 9, 311 βάσανος has this mng.) Rv 12:2.” The καί (kai) has not been translated.

[12:3]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:3]  ⁶ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[12:3]  sn Diadem crowns were a type of crown used as a symbol of the highest ruling authority in a given area, and thus often associated with kingship.

[12:4]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

[12:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:5]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the anticipated birth.

[12:5]  ¹¹ tn On this term BDAG 135 s.v. ἄρσην states: “male…The neut. ἄρσεν Rv 12:5, difft. vs. 13, comes fr. Is 66:7 and is in apposition to υἱόν. On the juxtaposition s. FBoll, ZNW 15, 1914, 253; BOlsson, Glotta 23, ’34, 112.”

[12:5]  ¹² tn Grk “shepherd.”

[12:5]  ¹³ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[12:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[12:5]  sn An allusion to Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27; 19:15).

[12:5]  ¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[12:6]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and the woman,” which would be somewhat redundant in English.

[12:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “desert.”

[12:6]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “where she has there a place prepared by God.”

[12:6]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “so they can take care of her.”

[12:7]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[12:7]  ²¹ sn The archangel Michael had a special role in protecting the nation of Israel in the OT (Dan 10:13, 21; 12:1; see also Jude 9).

[12:9]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the war in heaven.

[12:10]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:10]  ²⁴ tn Or “the right of his Messiah to rule.” See L&N 37.35.

[12:10]  ²⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:10]  ²⁶ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). The translation “fellow believer” would normally apply (L&N 11.23), but since the speaker(s) are not specified in this context, it is not clear if such a translation would be appropriate here. The more generic “brothers and sisters” was chosen to emphasize the fact of a relationship without specifying its type.

[12:10]  ²⁷ tn Or “who accuses them continually.”