Revelation 13
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The First Beast
13 And I saw a beast[a] rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. 4 Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; 6 it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.[b] And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. 9 If any one has an ear, let him hear:
10 If any one is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if any one slays with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Second Beast
11 Then I saw another beast[c] which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It works great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of men; 14 and by the signs which it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image for the beast which was wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15 and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.[d][e]
Footnotes
- 13.1 a beast: This symbolizes the material forces of evil, arrayed against the church.
- Revelation 13:7 Other ancient authorities omit this sentence
- 13.11 another beast: i.e., the false prophets.
- Revelation 13:18 Other ancient authorities read six hundred and sixteen
- 13.18 six hundred and sixty-six: The letters of Nero’s name plus the title of Caesar, given their numerical meaning in Hebrew and added together, makes 666.
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
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
