Revelation 12:9

Revelation 12:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
• New International Version (NIV)The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Context of Revelation 12:9

7Then a war started in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his army of angels fought against Michael and his angels. 8But the dragon and his army were not strong enough to win the battle. They no longer had a place for themselves in heaven. Michael and his angels threw the great dragon out of heaven. The dragon is called the Devil or Satan. He is the snake who has been there since long ago. He tells lies to deceive the whole world. They threw him down to the earth, together with all his angels. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven that said: ‘Now God has saved his people from Satan's power! God has shown his great power as King. His Messiah has authority to rule. Satan said bad things against our people. He never stopped telling our God that our brothers and sisters are guilty. But now God has thrown him out of heaven. 11Our brothers and sisters fought against him and they won. They could do this because of the death of the Lamb as a sacrifice. They continued to speak God's true message. They were also ready to die as God's servants. That is why they were able to win against Satan.

Revelation 12:9 word by word

καὶ ἐβλήθη ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὁ καλούμενος διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς ὁ πλανῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὅλην, ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐβλήθησαν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• the greatὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• dragonδράκωνdrakōn · dragonG1404
• was cast outβάλλωballō · to throw: throwG906
• that oldἀρχαῖοςarchaios · ancientG744
• serpentὄφιςophis · snakeG3789
• calledκαλέωkaleō · to call: callG2564
• the Devilδιάβολοςdiabolos · devilish/the DevilG1228
• SatanΣατανᾶςSatanas · SatanG4567
• which deceivethπλανάωplanaō · to lead astrayG4105
• the wholeὅλοςholos · allG3650
• worldοἰκουμένηoikoumenē · worldG3625
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the earthγῆgē · earth: planetG1093
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• angelsἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
• withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326

Cross-references for Revelation 12:9

• Revelation 12:3Then another wonderful thing appeared in the sky. It was a very big red dragon. It had seven heads and ten horns. There was a crown on each head.
• Luke 10:18Jesus replied, ‘I saw the Devil himself fall from heaven like lightning.
• John 12:31It is time now for God to judge the people in this world. Now he will throw out the ruler of this world.
• Revelation 12:14But the woman received the two wings of a very big eagle. Then she could fly to the place in the wilderness that God had prepared for her. In that place God would keep her safe from the big snake. God would take care of her there for a time, times and half a time.
• Revelation 20:2He took hold of the dragon. That dragon is the Devil and Satan. He is the snake who has lived since long ago. The angel tied up the dragon with the chain for 1,000 years.
• Genesis 3:1The Lord God made many wild animals. But the snake was the most clever of them all. The snake asked the woman, ‘Did God say, “You must not eat the fruit from any tree in the garden”? Is that really true?’
• Isaiah 27:1At that time, the Lord will punish Leviathan. The Lord will use his great and powerful sword to destroy that monster. Leviathan is a snake that moves very fast in the sea and it turns in every direction. But the Lord will kill it.
• Isaiah 65:25At that time, wolves and lambs will eat together. Lions will eat straw like cows. A snake's food will be dirt. Nothing will hurt or destroy anything else anywhere on my holy mountain.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Revelation 9:20But all the people that the fire, the smoke and the sulphur did not kill continued to do bad things. They did not change how they lived. They worshipped things that they had made for themselves. They worshipped demons and idols that they made from gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood. Those idols cannot see anything or hear anything. They cannot walk anywhere. But the people continued to worship them.
• Revelation 16:14Those bad spirits are the spirits of demons. They had the power to do miracles. They went to all the rulers in the whole world, to bring them together to fight in a big war. That war will happen on the great day of God, who has all power and authority.
• Revelation 18:2He shouted with a very loud voice: ‘God has destroyed the great city of Babylon! She has become a place where demons live. She is a home for every disgusting spirit. She is a home for every unclean bird. She is a home for every unclean and disgusting animal.
• Matthew 4:1Then the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While he was there, the Devil came to him. He tried to cause Jesus to do wrong things.
• Matthew 13:39The Devil is the bad person who planted the weed seeds in the field. The time for harvest is like the end of time. God's angels are the workers who cut the plants down.
• Luke 8:12Some seeds fell on the path. That is like some people who hear the message, but they do not think about it. The Devil comes and he takes the message away from their minds. He takes it away so that they cannot believe it. Because they do not believe the message, God does not save them.
• John 8:44You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to do the things that he wants. From the beginning, he has been someone who murders people. He refuses to accept the truth, because there is nothing true in him. When he tells lies, he is showing what he is really like. He always tells lies. He is the father of all lies.
• 1 Timothy 3:6A leader of the church must not be someone who has believed in Christ for only a short time. Someone like that might boast that he is great and important. Then he would receive punishment, as the Devil did.

Commentaries on Revelation 12:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Revelation 12:9; per Adam Clarke That old serpent - The rabbins speak much of this being, sometimes under the notion of הרע יצר yetser hara, the evil principle, and sometimes Samael. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him - This is very like a saying in the book Bahir, in Sohar Gen., fol. 27, col. 107: "And God cast out Samael and his troops from the place of their holiness." Revelation 12:9; per John Edward Clarke And the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9And the great dragon was cast out - See the notes on Revelation 12:3. That there may be an allusion in the language here to what actually occurred in some far distant period of the past, when Satan was ejected from heaven, there can be no reason to doubt. Our Saviour seems to refer to such an event in the language which he uses when he says Luke 10:18, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven”; and Jude, perhaps Revelation 12:6, may refer to the same…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-11Verses 7-11 The attempts of the dragon proved unsuccessful against the church, and fatal to his own interests. The seat of this war was in heaven; in the church of Christ, the kingdom of heaven on earth. The parties were Christ, the great Angel of the covenant, and his faithful followers; and Satan and his instruments. The strength of the church is in having the Lord Jesus for the Captain of their salvation. Pagan idolatry, which was the worship of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-9This scene reveals the dragon’s identity and power. God sends Michael, the warrior archangel (see Daniel 12:1; Jude 1:9), to face the dragon and his angels. God does not need to fight the battle himself (see Matthew 26:53), and Satan is defeated.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. that old serpent--alluding to Ge 3:1, 4. Devil--the Greek, for "accuser," or "slanderer." Satan--the Hebrew for "adversary," especially in a court of justice. The twofold designation, Greek and Hebrew, marks the twofold objects of his accusations and temptations, the elect Gentiles and the elect Jews. world--Greek, "habitable world."Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 12:9

• Demons
• Heaven
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Satan
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Satan
• Satan, devil, evil one
• Adultery
• Angel
• Daemon
• Dragon
• Earth
• Michael
• Serpent
• Star

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