Revelation 13
New Living Translation
The Beast out of the Sea
13 Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. 2 This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority.
3 I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?”
5 Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. 6 And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven.[a] 7 And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. 8 And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.[b]
9 Anyone with ears to hear
should listen and understand.
10 Anyone who is destined for prison
will be taken to prison.
Anyone destined to die by the sword
will die by the sword.
This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful.
The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. 12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. 14 And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. 15 He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die.
16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[c] His number is 666.[d]
Revelation 13
New King James Version
The Beast from the Sea
13 Then [a]I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw (A)a beast rising up out of the sea, (B)having [b]seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a (C)blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The (D)dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads (E)as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And (F)all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, (G)“Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
5 And he was given (H)a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to [c]continue for (I)forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, (J)His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him (K)to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And (L)authority was given him over every [d]tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, (M)whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain (N)from the foundation of the world.
9 (O)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 (P)He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; (Q)he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. (R)Here is the [e]patience and the faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast (S)coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, (T)whose deadly wound was healed. 13 (U)He performs great signs, (V)so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 (W)And he deceives [f]those who dwell on the earth (X)by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword (Y)and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak (Z)and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, (AA)to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has [g]the mark or (AB)the name of the beast, (AC)or the number of his name.
18 (AD)Here is wisdom. Let him who has (AE)understanding calculate (AF)the number of the beast, (AG)for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
Footnotes
- Revelation 13:1 NU he
- Revelation 13:1 NU, M ten horns and seven heads
- Revelation 13:5 M make war
- Revelation 13:7 NU, M add and people
- Revelation 13:10 perseverance
- Revelation 13:14 M my own people
- Revelation 13:17 NU, M the mark, the name
Revelation 13
Christian Standard Bible
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) 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth.(D) The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed.
The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.(E) 4 They worshiped the dragon(F) because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast?(G) Who is able to wage war against it?”
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies.(H) It was allowed to exercise authority[c][d] for forty-two months.(I) 6 It began to speak[e] blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them.(J) It was also given authority(K) over every tribe, people, language, and nation.(L) 8 All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book[f] of life(M) of the Lamb who was slaughtered.[g](N)
9 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.(O)
10 If anyone is to be taken captive,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed[h] with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.(P)
This calls for endurance[i] and faithfulness from the saints.(Q)
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb,[j](R) but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 It also performs great signs,(S) even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people.(T) 14 It deceives those who live on the earth(U) because of the signs that it is permitted to perform in the presence of the beast,(V) telling those who live on the earth to make an image[k] of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 It was permitted to give breath[l] 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.(W) 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,(X) 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom:[m](Y) Let the one who has understanding calculate[n] the number of the beast, because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.[o]
Footnotes
- 13:1 Or diadems
- 13:1 Other mss read heads was a blasphemous name
- 13:5 Other mss read to wage war
- 13:5 Or to rule
- 13:6 Or He opened his mouth in
- 13:8 Or scroll
- 13:8 Or written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered from the foundation of the world
- 13:10 Other mss read anyone kills
- 13:10 Or Here is the perseverance
- 13:11 Or ram
- 13:14 Or a statue, or a likeness
- 13:15 Or a spirit, or life
- 13:18 Or Here is wisdom
- 13:18 Or count, or figure out
- 13:18 Other Gk mss read 616
Revelation 13
The Voice
13 I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the blackness of the sea. On its horns hung ten crowns, and on its heads were inscribed blasphemous names. 2 This beast was like a leopard, its feet were like the claws of a bear, and its mouth was like the jaws of a lion. The dragon bestowed it with his power and his throne and his great authority. 3 One of the beast’s heads appeared to have suffered a fatal blow, but its mortal wound had somehow been healed. Amazed at the miracle and its power, all the earth followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast because of its power.
Earth: Who can match the beast? Who can fight against it?
The beast emerges from the murky waters resembling the dragon; but it has other features, too, that resemble the four beasts as described in Daniel 7. Daniel, in his visions, learns that the beasts represent the empires that terrorized Israel and the rest of the world: the Babylonians, Persians, Medes, and Greeks. Prophetic images are difficult to identify. The beast in John’s vision could be none other than the Roman Empire or another empire to come later. Rome has its own beastly authority, the Caesar, who demands worship. “Caesar is Lord,” they dare to claim. But John knows better. In every generation, powerful people and institutions arise—political predators that demand loyalty, sometimes even worship.
5 And the beast was given a mouth that bellowed arrogant boasts and uttered great blasphemies, and it was permitted to do what it willed for 42 months. 6 Its mouth opened with a stream of insults against God, blaspheming His name, cursing His dwelling and those who live in heaven. 7 Also it received permission to declare war against the saints and conquer them. Not a single nation, people, language, or ethnicity could escape its dominion. 8 The inhabitants of the earth will worship it, that is, all those whose names have not been recorded before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.
9 Let the person who is able to hear, listen carefully.
10 If someone is destined for captivity,
a captive he will be.
If someone is destined [to die][a] by the sword,
by the sword he will die.
The endurance and faithfulness of the saints will be tested here.
11 As I watched, I saw a second beast, this one rising up from the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it was speaking with the voice of a dragon.
The second beast, which later becomes “the false prophet,” has horns like the lamb; but its true nature is revealed in its dragon-like voice. Many pretenders and posers exist in the spiritual world. This new beast wants the world to believe it represents the True God, the only King worthy of worship. But it’s a deceiver, a counterfeit of the true King; it steals devotion away from the one true God, producing signs to dazzle the inhabitants of the earth.
12 This earth-beast exercises all of the authority given to it by the first beast, and it forces the earth and all its inhabitants to bow down and worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. 13 And the earth-beast performs fantastic miracles. Like Elijah on Mount Carmel, it even causes fire to blaze down from heaven to earth for all to see. 14 Since it is allowed to perform these miracles in the presence of the first beast, the earth-beast deceives the inhabitants of the earth, commanding them to make an image of the first beast that had survived the mortal wound inflicted by the sword. 15 And the earth-beast was granted permission to breathe into the image and to animate it so that it could even speak. It decreed that those who refuse to worship the image of the first beast must be killed, 16 and the earth-beast mandates that all humans must carry a mark on their right hands or foreheads: both great and small, both rich and poor, both free and slave.
The beast demands worship and requires all to carry its mark. Those who don’t face severe punishment.
17 Those who do not carry this mark, that is, those who do not have the name of the first beast or the number representing its name inscribed on them, are not allowed to sell their wares or buy in the market.
18 Here is divine wisdom: let anyone who understands these mysteries figure out the number of the beast because it is the number of a person. Its number is 666.[b]
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.