| I … will put (NIV, NWT) will cause (NLT) will make (GNT) | Jehovah God is causing it |
| enmity (NIV) hostility (NLT) hate (CEV) | An enemy, warlike relationship |
| between you and the woman | The relationship between the Woman and the Serpent |
A Change
“I will put” or “I will set” indicates a change in the relationship between the Serpent and the Woman. The previously peaceful relationship between Satan and the symbolic wife of God changed. Jehovah caused Satan to be no longer part of the group of faithful angels. Satan formed a new group of opposers or resisters against the will of God.
Who’s Enemy?
The true enmity happened between God’s symbolic wife, which consists of Michael and his angels, and their enemies: Satan and his group of fallen angels.
Interestingly Jehovah God didn’t say that Satan would be his personal enemy, but the enemy of faithful angels, who are determined to continue to support God’s will.
As a rebellious angel and creation of God, Satan cannot compete with his maker. With a snap, God could transport Satan into non-existence.
Satan is the enemy of other intelligent persons, and he can “cause [their] death” (Heb 2:14) by misleading them away from God.
Satan’s enmity especially includes the children of the Woman, the resurrected Jesus Christ and the group of 144,000 who will carry out the destruction of Satan. Satan and his “children” showed their animosity through the cruel execution of Jesus Christ and the persecution of those “bearing witness concerning Jesus” (Re 12:17).