¹¹ Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers,^(A) and the Egyptian magicians^(B) also did the same things by their secret arts:^{(C) 12} Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

²⁰ Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded.^(A) He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile,^(B) and all the water was changed into blood.^{(C) 21} The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

²² But the Egyptian magicians^(D) did the same things by their secret arts,^(E) and Pharaoh’s heart^(F) became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders^(A) to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan^(A) works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders^(B) that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.^(C) They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.^(D)

³ One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.^(A) The whole world was filled with wonder^(B) and followed the beast.

The Beast out of the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth.^(A) It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.^{(B) 12} It exercised all the authority^(C) of the first beast on its behalf,^(D) and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,^(E) whose fatal wound had been healed.^{(F) 13} And it performed great signs,^(G) even causing fire to come down from heaven^(H) to the earth in full view of the people. ¹⁴ Because of the signs^(I) it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived^(J) the inhabitants of the earth.^(K) It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.^{(L) 15} The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship^(M) the image to be killed.^(N)

¹⁴ They are demonic spirits^(A) that perform signs,^(B) and they go out to the kings of the whole world,^(C) to gather them for the battle^(D) on the great day^(E) of God Almighty.