Revelation 13
Legacy Standard Bible
The Beast from the Sea
13 And the [a]dragon stood on the sand of the [b]seashore.
Then I saw a (A)beast coming up out of the sea, having (B)ten horns and (C)seven heads, and on his horns were (D)ten diadems, and on his heads were (E)blasphemous names. 2 And the beast which I saw was (F)like a leopard, and his feet were like those of (G)a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of (H)a lion. And the (I)dragon gave him his power and his (J)throne and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been [c]slain fatally, and his (K)fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth (L)marveled and followed after the beast. 4 And they worshiped the (M)dragon because he (N)gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “(O)Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” 5 And there was given to him a mouth (P)speaking [d]great boasts and blasphemies, and authority to act for (Q)forty-two months was given to him. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, (R)those who [e]dwell in heaven.
7 And it was also given to him to (S)make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over (T)every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8 And all who (U)dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone (V)whose name has not been [f]written (W)from the foundation of the world in the (X)book of life of (Y)the Lamb who has been slain. 9 (Z)If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 (AA)If anyone [g]is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; (AB)if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is (AC)the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
The Beast from the Earth
11 Then (AD)I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had (AE)two horns like a lamb and he was speaking as a (AF)dragon. 12 And he (AG)exercises all the authority of the first beast [h](AH)in his presence. And he makes (AI)the earth and those who dwell in it to (AJ)worship the first beast, whose (AK)fatal wound was healed. 13 And he (AL)does great signs, so that he even makes (AM)fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he (AN)deceives (AO)those who dwell on the earth because of (AP)the signs which were given to him to do [i](AQ)in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the (AR)wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even [j]speak and cause (AS)as many as do not (AT)worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, (AU)the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, that they [k]be given a (AV)mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the (AW)mark, either (AX)the name of the beast or (AY)the number of his name. 18 (AZ)Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number (BA)of man; and his number is [l]666.
Footnotes
- Revelation 13:1 Lit he
- Revelation 13:1 Lit sea
- Revelation 13:3 Lit slaughtered to death
- Revelation 13:5 Lit great things
- Revelation 13:6 Or tabernacle
- Revelation 13:8 Or written in the book...slain from the foundation of the world
- Revelation 13:10 Or leads into captivity
- Revelation 13:12 Or by his authority
- Revelation 13:14 Or by the authority of
- Revelation 13:15 One early ms speak, and he will cause
- Revelation 13:16 Lit that they give them a mark
- Revelation 13:18 One early ms 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]
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The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.