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The Two Beasts

13 (A)Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads; on each of its horns there was a crown, and on each of its heads there was a name that was insulting to God. (B)The beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear's feet and a mouth like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave the beast his own power, his throne, and his vast authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. Everyone worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast also, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?”

(C)The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for forty-two months. It began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven. (D)It was allowed to fight against God's people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race. (E)All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed.

“Listen, then, if you have ears! 10 (F)Whoever is meant to be captured will surely be captured; whoever is meant to be killed by the sword will surely be killed by the sword. This calls for endurance and faith on the part of God's people.”

11 Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast, whose wound had healed. 13 This second beast performed great miracles; it made fire come down out of heaven to earth in the sight of everyone. 14 And it deceived all the people living on earth by means of the miracles which it was allowed to perform in the presence of the first beast. The beast told them to build an image in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was allowed to breathe life into the image of the first beast, so that the image could talk and put to death all those who would not worship it. 16 The beast forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to have a mark placed on their right hands or on their foreheads. 17 No one could buy or sell without this mark, that is, the beast's name or the number that stands for the name.

18 This calls for wisdom. Whoever is intelligent can figure out the meaning of the number of the beast, because the number stands for the name of someone. Its number is 666.

The First Beast from the Sea

13 And I saw coming up out of the sea a beast that had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns ten royal headbands,[a] and on its heads a blasphemous name.[b] And the beast that I saw was similar to a leopard, and its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. And one of its heads appeared as though slaughtered to death, and its fatal wound[c] had been healed. And the whole earth was astonished and followed after the beast. And they worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to make war with him?

And a mouth was given to him speaking great things and blasphemies, and authority to act was given to him for forty-two months. And he opened his mouth for blasphemies toward God, to blaspheme his name and his dwelling, those who live in heaven. And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given to him over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name is not written[d] from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered. If anyone has an ear, let him hear!

10 If anyone is going into captivity, into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed by the sword, by the sword he is to be killed.

Here is the patient endurance and the faith of the saints.

The Second Beast from the Earth

11 And I saw another beast coming up from the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he was speaking like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast on behalf of him, and he causes the earth and those who live in it to worship the first beast whose fatal wound had been healed[e]. 13 And he performs great signs, so that he even causes fire from heaven to come down to the earth before people. 14 And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it has been granted to him to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who has the wound of the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast both spoke and caused that all those, unless they worshiped the image of the beast, should be killed. 16 And he causes all people, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, that they give them a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and that no one was able to buy or to sell except the one who had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom: the one who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number,[f] and his number is six hundred sixty-six.[g]

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:1 Or “ten diadem crowns”
  2. Revelation 13:1 Some manuscripts read “blasphemous names”
  3. Revelation 13:3 Literally “wound of death”
  4. Revelation 13:8 Literally “of whom his name is not written”
  5. Revelation 13:12 Literally “of whom the wound of his death had been healed”
  6. Revelation 13:18 Or “it is the number of a man”
  7. Revelation 13:18 A few significant manuscripts read “six hundred sixteen”