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
The Message
The Beast from the Sea
13 1-2 And the Dragon stood on the shore of the sea. I saw a Beast rising from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads—on each horn a crown, and each head inscribed with a blasphemous name. The Beast I saw looked like a leopard with bear paws and a lion’s mouth. The Dragon turned over its power to it, its throne and great authority.
3-4 One of the Beast’s heads looked as if it had been struck a deathblow, and then healed. The whole earth was agog, gaping at the Beast. They worshiped the Dragon who gave the Beast authority, and they worshiped the Beast, exclaiming, “There’s never been anything like the Beast! No one would dare go to war with the Beast!”
5-8 The Beast had a loud mouth, boastful and blasphemous. It could do anything it wanted for forty-two months. It yelled blasphemies against God, blasphemed his Name, blasphemed his Church, especially those already dwelling with God in Heaven. It was permitted to make war on God’s holy people and conquer them. It held absolute sway over all tribes and peoples, tongues and races. Everyone on earth whose name was not written from the world’s foundation in the slaughtered Lamb’s Book of Life will worship the Beast.
9-10 Are you listening to this? They’ve made their bed; now they must lie in it. Anyone marked for prison goes straight to prison; anyone pulling a sword goes down by the sword. Meanwhile, God’s holy people passionately and faithfully stand their ground.
The Beast from Under the Ground
11-12 I saw another Beast rising out of the ground. It had two horns like a lamb but sounded like a dragon when it spoke. It was a puppet of the first Beast, made earth and everyone in it worship the first Beast, which had been healed of its deathblow.
13-17 This second Beast worked magical signs, dazzling people by making fire come down from Heaven. It used the magic it got from the Beast to dupe earth dwellers, getting them to make an image of the Beast that received the deathblow and lived. It was able to animate the image of the Beast so that it talked, and then arrange that anyone not worshiping the Beast would be killed. It forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark on the right hand or forehead. Without the mark of the name of the Beast or the number of its name, it was impossible to buy or sell anything.
18 Solve a riddle: Put your heads together and figure out the meaning of the number of the Beast. It’s a human number: 666.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson