Revelation 12:13 — Persecuted, Chased, or Drove Away?
Most translations put Revelation 12:13 like this:
‘Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman…’ (KJV)
This is actually an interpretive translation. The word used is ἐδιωξεν (exedioxen) or ἐδιωξεν (edioxen), depending on the spelling used by the manuscript, but its most literal meaning is:
- Drove out
- Cast out
- Expelled
The meaning of ‘persecuted’ is also a valid translation if the context supports it — but who is to say the context supports it here? It’s a very complex vision, filled with hidden meanings. In such situations, it is often better to be more literal, otherwise the translation may mislead the reader.
This is why some modern Bibles, like the NIV, NLT, and ESV translate it as ‘pursued’.
However, even ‘pursued’ has problems, because it implies a chase! And a chase usually happens over a period of time. Yet there’s nothing else to indicate a chase taking place over a period of time. It risks implanting an idea in the reader’s mind that isn’t present in the text (admittedly, it’s very hard to avoid this, translators are only trying their best).
Strictly speaking, the word only describes a one-time action: being driven out or expelled.
So our translation says:
‘…he drove out [or ‘banished’] the woman…’.
Note also that our oldest copy of Revelation, the Codex Sinaiticus, has a slightly different word order in this verse, and it adds some ambiguity over who, exactly, is driving out the woman. See our page on Sinaiticus differences in Revelation.