12:9a
And the great dragon was hurled down: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊Michael and his angels⌋ threw the great dragon down
great: This word means “big.” It is the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “huge” in 12:3b. Here, the word may include the implied meaning of “powerful.”
12:9b–c
that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world: John tells the reader more about the dragon here. With the long dash at the end of 12:9a, the Berean Standard Bible indicates that 12:9b–c is added information. The New Living Translation (2004) uses the long dash before and after this added information. See the General Comment on 12:9a–c below for other ways to naturally include this added information.
12:9b
ancient serpent: The word ancient indicates that the serpent lived long ago. Now he has lived a very long time. This phrase implies that the serpent is the same serpent that tempted Adam and Eve. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
serpent of that time long ago
-or-
serpent of ancient times (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
serpent: This is another word for a snake. Dragons are also sometimes called serpents. The word serpent here reminds readers of the snake in the Garden of Eden story. If you have translated Genesis 3:1, use the same word for serpent here.
called the devil and Satan: The Greek words are literally “the one being called the devil and Satan.” It explains that the dragon in the vision is actually the devil, who is also named Satan. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
who is called the Devil and Satan (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
named the Devil, or Satan (Good News Translation)
devil: The Greek word here is literally “slanderer.” A slanderer is someone who says false things about someone to try to ruin that person’s reputation, name, or status. This word is used like a title for Satan. Make it clear that this word is used like a title:
Devil (Good News Translation)
Some ways to translate devil are:
• Use a local name or idiom that refers to the chief of all demons. For example:
Left-handed One
-or-
Barking One
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
leader of the evil spirits
-or-
spirit enemy of God
• Translate its meaning. For example:
Slanderer
• Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with the meaning of this word, explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The word “Devil” in Greek means “slanderer.”
But if you already included this footnote at 2:10, you may not want to repeat it here.
See how you translated this word in 2:10.
Satan: The word Satan is the Hebrew name of the leader of all the evil spirits. The Hebrew word means “enemy.” But it is used as a proper name in the New Testament. See how you translated this word in 2:9.
12:9c
the deceiver of the whole world: This clause tells the reader more about Satan. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that there are other beings named Satan and only this one is the deceiver of the whole world. If that is true in your language, translate this clause so that it tells more about Satan. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:
He is the deceiver of the whole world.
the deceiver: This phrase refers to deceiving people and persuading them to do wrong things. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
who leads the whole world astray (New International Version)
-or-
who has been leading people all over the world to sin
the whole world: Here this phrase refers to all the people throughout the whole world.
General Comment on 12:9a–c
Added information about the dragon comes after the main verb of 12:9. In some languages it is more natural to present the added information differently than the Berean Standard Bible. For example:
9a–c The great dragon, the primeval serpent, known as the devil or Satan, who had led all the world astray, was hurled down (New Jerusalem Bible)
In some languages it is more natural to put the added information in a separate sentence. For example:
9a The great dragon was hurled down. 9b It/He is that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan. 9c He leads the whole world astray.
-or-
The great dragon 9b is that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, 9c who leads the whole world astray. 9a He was hurled down.
12:9d
He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him: This clause continues the story after John described the dragon in 12:9b–c. The Greek words are literally “he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (as in the Revised Standard Version). The Berean Standard Bible does not repeat the verb phrase “thrown down,” because it is not required in English.
This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊Michael and his angels⌋ threw him and his angels/demons to the earth
General Comment on 12:9a–d
The dragon and his angels were thrown to earth only once. But the word “thrown” appears in 12:9a and 12:9d. The word “thrown” in 12:9d refers again to the event in 12:9a.
In some languages translating the word “thrown” in both 12:9a and 12:9d would indicate that they were thrown twice. If that is true in your language, you should:
• Indicate that 12:9d refers to the same event as 12:9a. For example:
9a The great dragon was hurled down—9b that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, 9c who leads the whole world astray. Indeed, 9d he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
• Combine 12:9d with 12:9a. For example:
9a The great dragon was hurled down 9d to the earth, and his angels with him. He is 9b that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, 9c who leads the whole world astray.
• Use only the evil angels as the subject in 12:9d. For example:
9a–c The great dragon, the primeval serpent known as the devil or Satan, who had led all the world astray, was hurled down to the earth 9d and his angels were hurled down with him. (New Jerusalem Bible)
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