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Revelation 12:17

in Revelation 12

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 dragon stood on the shore of the sea.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the dragon waxed wroth with the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, that keep the commandments of God, and hold the testimony of Jesus:

KJV

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

This verse in Revelation 12

Commentary

10 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

And the dragon was angry with the woman, etc. Seeing that the persecutions could not continue because they were averted by the mouth of the holy earth, he armed himself even more to persist in the mystery of iniquity, so that he could continually lie …

This site's exposition

the rest of her children

The dragon turns from the woman to the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 14:12 describes the saints in nearly the same words, and the next chapter shows the two beasts who wage this war.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 550.

proposed

For he says that they were persecuted because they were the offspring of the woman; for the faithful are sons and brothers of the Lord according to the Scripture: "I will proclaim your name to my brothers," (Ps. 22:22; Heb. 2:12) and again, "Here I …

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

And he stood on the sand of the sea. That is, over the multitude of the people, whom the wind drives away from the face of the earth. Without a doubt, it is the same enemy who is accustomed to devouring the enemy's schemes, now …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Revelation · Written before 735.

proposed

Who keep the commandments of God, etc. To keep the commandments of God in the faith of Jesus Christ is to fight with the dragon and provoke him to battle. And thanks be to God, who has nullified the attempts of the savage dragon. For …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

proposed

And the dragon was wroth - Anew, because he could not cause her to be carried away by the stream. And he went forth - Into other lands. To make war with the rest of her seed - Real Christians, living under heathen or Turkish governors.
And the dragon was wroth with the woman,....
3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

And the dragon was wroth with the woman - This wrath had been vented by his persecuting her Rev 12:13; by his pursuing her; and by his pouring out the flood of water to sweep her away Rev 12:15; and the same wrath was now vented against her children. As he could not reach and destroy the woman herself, he turned his indignation against all who were allied to her.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

wroth with--Greek, "at." went--Greek, "went away." the remnant of her seed--distinct in some sense from the woman herself. Satan's first effort was to root out the Christian Church, so that there should be no visible profession of Christianity.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

And the dragon was wroth with the woman - The heathen party, foiled in their subtle attempt to destroy Christianity, were greatly enraged, and endeavored to excite the hatred of the multitude against the religion of Jesus. “They alleged that before the coming of Christ the world was blessed with peace and prosperity; but that since the progress of their religion everywhere, the gods, filled with indignation to see their worship neglected and their altars abandoned, had visited the earth with those plagues and desolations which increased every day.” See Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, cent. V., part 1, and other works on this subject. Went to make war with the remnant of her seed - The dragon απηλθε, departed, i.e., into the wilderness, whither the woman had fled; and in another form commenced a new species of persecution, directed only against the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. See on Rev 13:13 of the following chapter (note) for an illustration of this remarkable passage.

The words behind it

28 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.

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

    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…

    • Isaiah 7:14

      Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

    • Hebrews 2:14–15

      Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,

    • Galatians 4:4

      But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

  • Through

    Revelation 14:12

    Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 13:10

      “If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and…

  • Through

    Revelation 19:10

    So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus.…

    it leads to

    • Revelation 22:8–9

      And I am John, who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown me these…

    • Acts 10:25–26

      As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.

Where this verse is studied

About Revelation

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Jan and Hubert van Eyck, about 1430 to 1432. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Revelation; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Oecumenius, Commentary on Revelation.