^12:16but⁴⁴ the earth came to her rescue;⁴⁵ the ground opened up⁴⁶ and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. ^12:17So⁴⁷ the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children,⁴⁸ those who keep⁴⁹ God’s commandments and hold to⁵⁰ the testimony about Jesus.⁵¹^12:18And the dragon⁵² stood⁵³ on the sand⁵⁴ of the seashore.⁵⁵

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Footnotes

44 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.
45 Grk “the earth helped the woman.”
46 Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).
47 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the woman’s escape.
48 Grk “her seed” (an idiom for offspring, children, or descendants).
49 Or “who obey.”
50 Grk “and having.”
51 Grk “the testimony of Jesus,” which may involve a subjective genitive (“Jesus’ testimony”) or, more likely, an objective genitive (“testimony about Jesus”).
52 Grk “he”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
53 Grk ἐστάθη (estathē, “he stood”). The reading followed by the translation is attested by the better (𝔓47 א A C 1854 2344 2351 lat syh) while the majority of (051 𝔐 vgmss syph co) have the reading ἐστάθην (estathēn, “I stood”). Thus, the majority of make the narrator, rather than the dragon of 12:17, the subject of the verb. The first person reading is most likely an assimilation to the following verb in 13:1, “I saw.” The reading “I stood” was introduced either by accident or to produce a smoother flow, giving the narrator a vantage point on the sea’s edge from which to observe the beast rising out of the sea in 13:1. But almost everywhere else in the book, the phrase καὶ εἶδον (kai eidon, “and I saw”) marks a transition to a new vision, without reference to the narrator’s activity. On both external and internal grounds, it is best to adopt the third person reading, “he stood.”
54 Or “sandy beach” (L&N 1.64).
55 The standard critical texts of the Greek NT, and , both include this sentence as 12:18, as do the and . Other modern translations like the and include the sentence at the beginning of 13:1; in these versions chap. 12 has only 17 verses.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But the earth helped the woman. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth. So the dragon was furious with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus.

The dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

NLTNew Living Translation

But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

Then the dragon took his stand on the shore beside the sea.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And the earth came to the aid of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon had spouted out of his mouth. And the dragon was angry at the woman, and went away to fight against the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and who hold to the testimony about Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

KJV 1900King James Version

And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

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