¹⁷ “The Lord of Armies who planted you^(A) has decreed disaster against you, because of the disaster^[a] the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves when they angered me by burning incense to Baal.”

There Is No One Like God

²⁹ Since, then, we are God’s offspring, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.^(A)

13 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.^(A) It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns,^[a](B) and on its heads were blasphemous names.^[b](C)

⁴ They worshiped the dragon^(A) because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast?^(B) Who is able to wage war against it?”

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb,^[a](A) but it spoke like a dragon.

¹⁴ It deceives those who live on the earth^(A) because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast,^(B) telling those who live on the earth to make an image^[a] of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵ It was permitted to give breath^[b] to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.^{(C) 16} And it makes everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,^{(D) 17} so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.