The woman was given: either by an angel or by God. In certain languages one may avoid the passive by saying “she received,” but in other languages it will be necessary to translate as “someone gave her,” or even “they gave the woman.”

The two wings of the great eagle: again the Revised Standard Version literal translation the great eagle makes it appear that the writer had a specific, large eagle in mind. So it is better to translate “the (two) wings of a large eagle.” For eagle see 4.7. This clause may be rendered as “They gave the wings of a large eagle to the woman so that she could fly….”

She might fly … into the wilderness: for wilderness see Rev. 12.6. In Greek the phrase translated from the serpent comes at the end of the verse; literally it reads “from the face (that is, the presence) of the serpent.” Instead of connecting it with the verb “to fly,” Good News Translation takes it to mean “safe from the serpent’s attack” (also Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje; note Translator’s New Testament “away from the serpent,” and Revised English Bible “out of reach of the serpent”). This seems preferable to Revised Standard Version and others.

From the serpent: the text switches from “the dragon” in verse 13 to “the serpent” in verses 14-15, and then back to “the dragon” in verses 16-17. A translation should feel free to keep “the dragon” in all passages, if translating the text literally proves confusing to the readers.

The place where she is to be nourished: as in Rev. 12.6.

A time, and times, and half a time: this is a way of saying “a year, two years, and half a year,” an expression used in Dan 7.25; 12.7, to indicate a limited period of intense suffering. It is the same as forty-two months or 1,260 days (see 11.2-3).

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• She received (or, They gave her) the wings of a large eagle so that she could fly to her place in the desert. There they (unknown agents) will take care of her for three and a half years, and the dragon will not be able to hurt her.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .