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Revelation 12 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Many scholars believe the events of this chapter are both future and past. The author may shift between the events without shifting the tense in which he speaks. Despite this, John speaks as if these events are about to happen.
Some translations indent each line of poetry to make it easier to read. The ULB does this with the poetry in 12:10-12.
Special concepts in this chapter
Serpent
The reference to Satan as the serpent is intended to have the reader remember the account of the temptation in the Garden of Eden. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
Important figures of speech in this chapter
Metaphor
The woman is described using many different metaphors, but her identity is unclear. The chapter also speaks about the rise of the antichrist. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/antichrist)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"A great sign was seen in heaven"
It is unclear whether this was seen by everybody on earth or whether it was only seen by John in his vision. The translator may have difficulty when the subject is unclear. In English, this is done through the use of the passive voice, but not every language has this construct. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive and rc://en/ta/man/translate/writing-apocalypticwriting)