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Revelation 12:13

in Revelation 12

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, he persecuted the woman that brought forth the man child.

KJV

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

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This verse in Revelation 12

Commentary

11 notes on this verse
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth - That is, when Satan saw that he was doomed to discomfiture and overthrow, as if he had been cast out of heaven; when he saw that his efforts must be confined to the earth, and that only for a limited time, he “persecuted the woman,” and was more violently enraged against the church on earth. He persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child - See the notes on Rev 12:

This site's exposition

he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child

Seeing himself cast down to the earth, the dragon turns to persecute the woman who had brought forth the man child, unable to reach the child who is already caught up to God's throne and so venting his fury on the mother instead. The verse resumes the flight begun in verse 6, the two verses framing the war in heaven as an interruption within one continuous scene of pursuit and escape. The dragon's persecution of Israel across the church age, on the site's reading, is the earthly outworking of a war he already lost out of human sight, a defeated enemy still doing all the damage a short time allows. His inability to reach the child turns his violence toward the child's mother, a pattern Herod's own slaughter of the innocents in Matthew 2:16 already showed on a smaller scale.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Primasius of Hadrumetum

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:13 · Written before 560.

proposed

As we said before, the devil carries on a hatred against the church that is without bounds and with all means. For the more he is defeated and is expelled, the more sharply does he try to multiply his deceptions.

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

The present passage is a repetition of what has been said before; for it does not mean that immediately after the Dragon saw that he had been cast down to the earth, he pursued the woman, but rather that when the Dragon saw himself existing …

A commentator

Hippolytus of Rome

Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments · Written before 235.

proposed

"And the dragon," he says, "saw and persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child. And to the woman were given two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Andreas of Caesarea

COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:13-14 · Written before 614.

proposed

When the devil wrestled with Christ after his baptism, he was overcome. Then arming himself against the holy apostles, he was again shamed when he saw that they found life through death, while as a snake he had been condemned to crawl upon the ground …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

And when the dragon saw that he was cast down to the earth, etc. The devil, attacking the Church with inextricable cunning, persecutes all the more intensely the more he is cast down.
4 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

This is thought to be meant of a flood of error and heresy, which was breathed by Arius, Nestorius, Pelagius, and many more, by which the church of God was in danger of being overwhelmed and carried away.

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

proposed

Accordingly, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the church was furiously persecuted by several heathen powers. In Prussia, king Adelbert was killed in the year 997, king Brunus in 1008; and when king Stephen encouraged Christianity in Hungary, he met with violent opposition.
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth - When the heathen party saw that they were no longer supported by the civil power: - He persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child - The heathens persecuted the Christian Church in the behalf of which Divine Providence had raised up a dynasty of Christian Roman emperors.

The words behind it

17 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 3:15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”6 worksRevelation 13:2The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.4 worksRevelation 20:2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.4 worksRevelation 12:3–5Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.3 worksJohn 16:33I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”3 worksPsalms 37:12–14The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Daniel 11:34Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.2 worksRevelation 11:10And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them, and will celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    John 16:33

    I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”

    it leads to

    • John 14:27

      Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

    • 1 John 5:4

      because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.

    • 2 Thessalonians 3:16

      Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

    • 1 John 4:4

      You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

    • Philippians 4:7

      And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

  • Through

    Genesis 3:15

    And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

    it leads to

    • Romans 16:20

      The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

    • 1 John 3:8

      The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the…

    • Revelation 12:17

      And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the…

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Transfiguration, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
The Transfiguration, Gustave Doré. Public domain.
Revelation: the study guide →Read Revelation 12 →
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andreas of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:13-14; Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Dogmatical and Historical Fragments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation and Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 12:13.

Read on in Revelation 12 →