American Standard Version
Revelation 12:1
1And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon 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 was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; 2and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. 3And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven 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
- greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
- signσημεῖονsēmeion · signG4592
- seenὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- womanγυνήgunē · womanG1135
- sunἥλιοςhēlios · sunG2246
- moonσελήνηselēnē · moonG4582
- feetπούςpous · footG4228
- headκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
- crownστέφανοςstephanos · crownG4735
- twelveδώδεκαdōdeka · twelveG1427
- starsἀστήρastēr · starG792
Cross-references for Revelation 12:1
- Revelation 12:3And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.
- Revelation 11:19And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
- Revelation 15:1And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.
- 2 Chronicles 32:31Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
- Mark 13:25and the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken.
- Acts 2:19And I will show wonders in the heaven above, And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:
- Matthew 12:38Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee.
- Matthew 24:30and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- Luke 21:11and there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven.
- Isaiah 49:14But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.
- Isaiah 54:5For thy Maker is thy husband; Jehovah of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.
- Isaiah 60:1Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee.
- Hosea 2:19And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
- John 3:29He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, that standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is made full.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
- Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it;
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries