The Beast from the Earth

11 Then (A)I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had (B)two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a (C)dragon. 12 He (D)exercises all the authority of the first beast [a](E)in his presence. And he makes (F)the earth and those who live on it (G)worship the first beast, whose (H)fatal wound was healed. 13 He (I)performs great signs, so that he even makes (J)fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. 14 And he (K)deceives (L)those who live on the earth because of (M)the signs which it was given him to perform [b](N)in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the (O)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 [c]speak and cause (P)all who do not (Q)worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, (R)the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, [d]to be given a (S)mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the (T)mark, either (U)the name of the beast or (V)the number of his name. 18 (W)Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that (X)of a [e]man; and his number is [f]six hundred and sixty-six.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:12 Or by his authority
  2. Revelation 13:14 Or by the authority of
  3. Revelation 13:15 One early ms speak, and he will cause
  4. Revelation 13:16 Lit so that they give them a mark
  5. Revelation 13:18 Or human
  6. Revelation 13:18 I.e., spelled out in Gr as 600 + 60 + 6; one early ms has the letters for 616

11 I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it talked like a dragon. 12 It uses all the authority of the first beast on its behalf,[a] and it makes the earth and those living on it worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs spectacular signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people. 14 It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do on behalf of[b] the first[c] beast, telling them to make an image for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast[d] was allowed to impart life to the image of the first[e] beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast. 16 The second beast[f] forces all people—important and unimportant, rich and poor, free and slaves—to be marked on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the mark, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.

18 In this case wisdom is needed: Let the person who has understanding[g] calculate[h] the total[i] of the beast, since it is a human multitude,[j] and the sum of the multitude[k] is 600, 60, and six.[l]

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:12 Or in its presence
  2. Revelation 13:14 Or in the presence of
  3. Revelation 13:14 The Gk. lacks first
  4. Revelation 13:15 Lit. It
  5. Revelation 13:15 The Gk. lacks first
  6. Revelation 13:16 Lit. It
  7. Revelation 13:18 Lit. has a mind
  8. Revelation 13:18 Or decide
  9. Revelation 13:18 Or the multitude
  10. Revelation 13:18 Or is a multitude of a man; or is the number of a human being
  11. Revelation 13:18 Or total number
  12. Revelation 13:18 Other mss. read 616; some scholars suggest that the Gk. letters χ, ξ, and ς (totaling 666) may resemble the proto-Arabic term for “in the name of Allah”