New Living Translation
Revelation 12:1
1Then 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.
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
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. 2She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth. 3Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his 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 I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads.
- Revelation 11:19Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.
- Revelation 15:1Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.
- 2 Chronicles 32:31However, when ambassadors arrived from Babylon to ask about the remarkable events that had taken place in the land, God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart.
- Mark 13:25the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
- Acts 2:19And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
- Matthew 12:38One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
- Matthew 24:30And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- Luke 21:11There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.
- Isaiah 49:14Yet Jerusalem says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”
- Isaiah 54:5For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.
- Isaiah 60:1“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
- Hosea 2:19I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion.
- John 3:29It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.
- 2 Corinthians 11:2For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.
- Ephesians 5:25For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life 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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries