12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens,

and you who dwell in them!h

Woe to the earth and the sea,

because the devil has come down to you

with great fury,

because he knows his time is short.

THE WOMAN PERSECUTED

13 When the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he persecutedA the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given two wings of a great eagle,i so that she could fly from the serpent’s presence to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time.j 15 From his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river flowing after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage wark against the rest of her offspringB,l—those who keep the commands of Godm and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.n