12:14a
But: There is some contrast here between the dragon chasing the woman and God helping the woman. Some English versions choose not to translate this conjunction; they leave the connection with 12:13 implicit.
the woman was given two wings of a great eagle: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊God⌋ gave the two wings of a great eagle to the woman
-or-
⌊Someone⌋ gave the two wings of a great eagle to the woman
-or-
⌊God caused/ordered someone⌋ to give to the woman the two wings of a great eagle
-or-
The woman received the two wings of a great eagle
two wings of a great eagle: This phrase indicates that the wings looked like eagle’s wings. The wings were powerful and enabled her to fly fast. Your translation should not indicate that God removed an eagle’s wings to give to the woman. The Contemporary English Version changes the phrase to a simile:
two wings like those of a huge eagle
eagle: An eagle is a large bird that is sometimes aggressive. It has strong wings and can fly very well. Eagles weigh about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and are about 1 meter (3 feet) in length.
See how you translated this word in 4:7 or 8:13.
12:14b
to fly: This clause indicates purpose. God gave eagle’s wings to the woman so that she could fly to the place that God prepared for her. Other ways to translate this clause are:
so that she could fly (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
to fly away (New Jerusalem Bible)
from the presence of the serpent: The Greek phrase is literally “away from the presence of the serpent” (as in the NET Bible). The woman will fly away from the serpent so that he will not be able to harm her. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
safe from the dragon’s attack (Good News Translation)
-or-
and the serpent cannot harm her there
serpent: The word serpent still refers to the dragon (Satan) here (12:9b). See how you translated this word in 12:9.
to her place: The Berean Standard Bible literally translates the Greek here. The Greek phrase refers to “where God had prepared a place for her” (12:6a). Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the place prepared for her (New International Version)
-or-
that place of hers
wilderness: The Greek word the Berean Standard Bible translates as wilderness refers to a place that is empty, desolate, or uninhabited. See how you translated this word in 12:6.
12:14c
where she was nourished: This clause tells the reader more about the place in the desert. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there are other places that she went to, and God’s angels only took care of her in this one. If that is true in your language, translate this clause so that it tells more about the place in the desert. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:
She would be taken care of there.
she was nourished: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊God’s angels⌋ would nourish her
a time, and times, and half a time: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as time refers to a period of time. Here it refers to a year. Therefore, the phrase refers to one year, two years, and half a year, for a total of three and a half years. It refers to the same amount of time as the 1,260 days (12:6). Other ways to translate this phrase are:
a time, two times, and half a time (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
three and a half years (Revised English Bible)
-or-
one year then two years then half a year
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