Amplified Bible
Revelation 12:1
1And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Revelation 12:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
- New International Version (NIV)A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.
Context of Revelation 12:1
And a great sign [warning of an ominous and frightening future event] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2She was with child (the Messiah) and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. 3Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).
Read all of Revelation 12Revelation 12:1 word by word
Καὶ σημεῖον μέγα ὤφθη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ ἡ σελήνη ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῆς στέφανος ἀστέρων δώδεκα,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andκαίkai · andG2532
- there appearedὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- a greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- wonderσημεῖονsēmeion · signG4592
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- heavenὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- a womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
- clothed withπεριβάλλωperiballō · to clotheG4016
- the sunἥλιοςhēlios · sunG2246
- the moonσελήνηselēnē · moonG4582
- underὑποκάτωhupokatō · underG5270
- herαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- feetπούςpous · footG4228
- uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- headκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
- a crownστέφανοςstephanos · crownG4735
- of twelveδώδεκαdōdeka · twelveG1427
- starsἀστήρastēr · starG792
Cross-references for Revelation 12:1
- Revelation 12:3Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).
- Revelation 11:19And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning, loud rumblings and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.
- Revelation 15:1Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful [a warning of terrifying and horrible events]: seven angels who had seven plagues (afflictions, calamities), which are the last, because with them the wrath of God is finished [that is, it is completely expressed and reaches its zenith].
- 2 Chronicles 32:31And so in the matter of the envoys of the rulers of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone only to test him, in order to know everything that was in his heart.
- Mark 13:25and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.
- Acts 2:19And I will bring about wonders in the sky above And signs (attesting miracles) on the earth below, Blood and fire and smoking vapor.
- Matthew 12:38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign (attesting miracle) from You [proving that You are what You claim to be].”
- Matthew 24:30And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].
- Luke 21:11There will be violent earthquakes, and in various places famines and [deadly and devastating] pestilences (plagues, epidemics); and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.
- Isaiah 49:14But Zion (Jerusalem in captivity) said, “The Lord has abandoned me, And my Lord has forgotten me.”
- Isaiah 54:5For your husband is your Maker, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of the whole earth.
- Isaiah 60:1“Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord]; for your light has come, And the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you.
- Hosea 2:19And I will betroth you (Israel) to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and loyalty, and in compassion.
- John 3:29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this pleasure and joy of mine is now complete.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I have promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
- Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
Commentaries on Revelation 12:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1There appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun - That the woman here represents the true Church of Christ most commentators are agreed. In other parts of the Apocalypse, the pure Church of Christ is evidently portrayed by a woman. In Revelation 19:7, a great multitude are represented as saying, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made herself ready." In…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven - In that heavenly world thus disclosed, in the very presence of God, he saw the impressive and remarkable symbol which he proceeds to describe. The word “wonder” - ͂ sēmeion- properly means something extraordinary, or miraculous, and is commonly rendered “sign.” See Matthew 12:38-39; Matthew 16:1, Matthew 16:3-4; Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 24:30; Matthew 26:48; Mark 8:11-12; Mark 13:4, Mark 13:22…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Chapter Outline A description of the church of Christ and of Satan, under the figures of a woman and of a great red dragon. (1-6) Michael and his angels fight against the devil and his angels, who are defeated. (7-12) The dragon persecutes the church. (13-14) His vain endeavours to destroy her, He renews his war against her seed. (14-17) Verses 1-6 The church, under the emblem of a woman, the mother of believers, was seen by the apostle in vision, in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The number twelve suggests that the woman represents God's people (compare Revelation 12:15–17; see Jeremiah 2:32; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:32), from whom the Messiah came. This woman is marked by God's glory, unlike the prostitute (see Revelation 17:1–6), who faces destruction.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-171. This episode (Re 12:1-15:8) describes in detail the persecution of Israel and the elect Church by the beast, which had been summarily noticed, Re 11:7-10, and the triumph of the faithful, and torment of the unfaithful. So also the sixteenth through twentieth chapters are the description in detail of the judgment on the beast, &c., summarily noticed in Re 11:13, 18. The beast in Re 12:3, &c., is shown not to be alone, but to be the instrument in the…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 12:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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