His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
Parallel translations
- WEB His tail drew one third of the stars of the sky, and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
- KJV And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
- BSB His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, tossing them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth.
- NASB And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her Child.
- NLT His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The dragon's tail sweeps a third of the stars to earth, and he waits to devour the woman's child. Satan opposes God's purposes and seeks to destroy the Messiah at His birth.
Overview
Sweeping the stars may picture Satan's destructive power and his dragging others into rebellion (compare Daniel 8:10). His poised attack on the child recalls historical attempts to destroy the Messiah—Pharaoh's slaughter, Herod's massacre at Bethlehem (Matthew 2). The scene reveals the cosmic enmity aimed at Christ from His birth. Yet the dragon's malice, though real, cannot thwart God's redemptive plan.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Dan 8:9–12Out of one of them came out a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
- Rev 12:9The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he 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.
- John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.
- Rev 12:2–3She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth.
- Exod 1:16and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
- Rev 8:7The first sounded, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. One third of the earth was burned up, and one third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
- Rev 9:10They have tails like those of scorpions, and stings. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months.
- Rev 9:19For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they harm.
- 1 Pet 5:8Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
- Matt 2:3–16When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
- Rev 17:18The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.”
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 12:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.