Revelation 13:5–18

⁵And the beast was given ^xa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for ^yforty-two months. ⁶It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,¹ that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷Also it was allowed ^zto make war on the saints and to conquer them.² And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸and all ^awho dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in ^bthe book of life of ^cthe Lamb ^dwho was slain. ^9eIf anyone has an ear, let him hear:

^10fIf anyone is to be taken captive,

to captivity he goes;

^gif anyone is to be slain with the sword,

with the sword must he be slain.

^hHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

The Second Beast

¹¹Then ⁱI saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. ¹²It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,³ and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, ^jwhose mortal wound was healed. ^13kIt performs great signs, even ^lmaking fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, ¹⁴and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of⁴ the beast ^mit deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast ⁿthat was wounded by the sword and yet lived. ¹⁵And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not ^oworship the image of the beast ^pto be slain. ¹⁶Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,^{5 q}to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, ¹⁷so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, ^rthe name of the beast or ^sthe number of its name. ^18tThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number ^uof a man, and his number is 666.⁶