Revelation 13
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Beast from the Sea
13 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea.(A) He[a] had 10 horns and seven heads. On his horns were 10 diadems,(B) and on his heads were blasphemous names.[b](C) 2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like a bear’s, and his mouth was like a lion’s mouth.(D) The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of his heads appeared to be fatally wounded,[c] but his fatal wound was healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.[d](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 him?”
5 A mouth was given to him to speak boasts and blasphemies.(H) He was also given authority to act[e][f] for 42 months.(I) 6 He began to speak[g] blasphemies against God: to blaspheme His name and His dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And he was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. He was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.(J) 8 All those who live on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book[h] of life(K) of the Lamb who was slaughtered.[i](L)
9 If anyone has an ear, he should listen:(M)
10 If anyone is destined for captivity,
into captivity he goes.
If anyone is to be killed[j] with a sword,
with a sword he will be killed.(N)
This demands the perseverance[k] and faith of the saints.(O)
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb,[l](P) but he sounded like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast on his behalf and compels the earth and those who live on it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He also performs great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 He deceives those who live on the earth(Q) because of the signs that he is permitted to perform on behalf of the beast,(R) telling those who live on the earth to make an image[m] of the beast who had the sword wound and yet lived. 15 He was permitted to give a spirit[n] 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. 16 And he requires everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark[o] on his right hand or on his forehead,(S) 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark: the beast’s name or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom:[p](T) The one who has understanding must calculate[q] the number of the beast, because it is the number of a man.[r] His number is 666.[s]
Footnotes
- Revelation 13:1 The beasts in Rv 13:1,11 are customarily referred to as “he” or “him” rather than “it.” The Gk word for a beast (therion) is grammatically neuter.
- Revelation 13:1 Other mss read heads was a blasphemous name
- Revelation 13:3 Lit be slain to death
- Revelation 13:3 Lit amazed after the beast
- Revelation 13:5 Other mss read wage war
- Revelation 13:5 Or to rule
- Revelation 13:6 Lit He opened his mouth in
- Revelation 13:8 Or scroll
- Revelation 13:8 Or written in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered from the foundation of the world
- Revelation 13:10 Other mss read anyone kills
- Revelation 13:10 Lit Here is the perseverance
- Revelation 13:11 Or ram
- Revelation 13:14 Or statue, or likeness
- Revelation 13:15 Or give breath, or give life
- Revelation 13:16 Or stamp, or brand
- Revelation 13:18 Or This calls for wisdom
- Revelation 13:18 Or count, or figure out
- Revelation 13:18 Or is a man’s number, or is the number of a person
- Revelation 13:18 Other Gk mss read 616
Revelation 13
Modern English Version
The Two Beasts
13 I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on his horns, and blasphemous names on his heads. 2 The beast which I saw was like a leopard. His feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3 I saw one of his heads as if it was mortally wounded, but his deadly wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast. 4 They worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast. And they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war with him?”
5 He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. And he was given authority to wage war for forty-two months. 6 He opened his mouth to speak blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to wage war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe and tongue and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, all whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 “He who is to be taken captive,
into captivity he shall go;
he who kills with the sword,
with the sword he must be killed.”[a]
Here is a call for the patience and the faith of the saints.
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, making fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 He deceives those who dwell on the earth by the signs which he was granted to do in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by a sword and lived. 15 He was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 so that no one may buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18 Here is a call for wisdom: Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast. It is the number of a man. His number is six hundred and sixty-six.
Footnotes
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.