13 ¹ and I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. Each of its horns was decorated with a royal crown, and on its heads were blasphemous names. 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. The dragon gave it his power, throne, and great authority. ³ One of its heads appeared to have been slain and killed, but its deadly wound was healed. So the whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. ⁴ They worshipped the dragon because it had given the beast its authority. They worshipped the beast and said, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

⁵ The beast was given a mouth that spoke boastful and blasphemous things, and it was given authority to act for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God. It blasphemed God’s name and his dwelling place (that is, those who dwell in heaven).

⁷ It was also allowed to make war on the saints and to gain victory over them. It was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. ⁸ All who live on earth worshipped it, all whose names hadn’t been written—from the time the earth was made—in the scroll of life of the Lamb who was slain. ⁹ Whoever has ears must listen: ¹⁰ If any are to be taken captive, then into captivity they will go. If any are to be killed by the sword, then by the sword they will be killed. This calls for endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.

The beast from the land

¹¹ Then I saw another beast coming up from the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it was speaking like a dragon. ¹² It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence. It also makes the earth and those who live in it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. ¹³ It does great signs so that it even makes fire come down from heaven to earth in the presence of the people. ¹⁴ It deceives those who live on earth by the signs that it was allowed to do in the presence of the beast. It told those who live on earth to make an image for the beast who had been wounded by the sword and yet came to life again. ¹⁵ It was allowed to give breath to the beast’s image so that the beast’s image would even speak and cause anyone who didn’t worship the beast’s image to be put to death. ¹⁶ It forces everyone—the small and great, the rich and poor, the free and slaves—to have a mark put on their right hand or on their forehead. ¹⁷ It will not allow anyone to make a purchase or sell anything unless the person has the mark with the beast’s name or the number of its name. ¹⁸ This calls for wisdom. Let the one who understands calculate the beast’s number, for it’s a human being’s number. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.