New International Version
Revelation 12:1
1A 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.
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:
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
Context of Revelation 12:1
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. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.
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 appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.
- Revelation 11:19Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.
- Revelation 15:1I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed.
- 2 Chronicles 32:31But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.
- Mark 13:25the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
- Acts 2:19I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
- Matthew 12:38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
- Matthew 24:30“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
- Luke 21:11There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
- Isaiah 49:14But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
- Isaiah 54:5For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.
- Isaiah 60:1“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
- Hosea 2:19I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.
- John 3:29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
- Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ 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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