¹³And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.^* ²And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority.^* ³One of its heads seemed to have received a death blow, but its fatal wound^m had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast.^* ⁴They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”^*

⁵The beast was given a mouth speaking arrogant and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months.^* ⁶It opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷Also, it was allowed to wage war on the saints and to conquer them.ⁿ It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation,^* ⁸and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.^o^*

⁹Let anyone who has an ear listen:

¹⁰If you are to be taken captive,

into captivity you go;

if you kill with the sword,

with the sword you must be killed.

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

The Second Beast

¹¹Then I saw another beast that rose 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 on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound^p had been healed. ¹³It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all,^* ¹⁴and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword^q and yet lived,^* ¹⁵and it was allowed to give breath^r to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be given a brand on the right hand or the forehead,^* ¹⁷so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the brand, that is, the name of the beast or the number for its name.^* ¹⁸This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number for a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.^s^*

Read in Logos

Footnotes

mGk the plague of its death
nOther ancient authorities lack this sentence
oOr written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered from the foundation of the world
pGk whose plague of its death
qOr that had received the plague of the sword
rOr spirit
sOther ancient authorities read six hundred sixteen

Cross references

*Dan 7:1–6; Rev 17:3
*Rev 16:10
*Rev 17:8
*Rev 18:18
*Dan 7:8, 11, 25; Rev 11:2
*Dan 7:21; Rev 5:9; 11:7
*Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5; 5:6; 17:8
*Isa 33:1; Mt 26:52; Rev 14:12
*1 Kings 18:38; Mt 24:24; Rev 16:14; 20:9
*2 Thess 2:9, 10; Rev 12:9
*Rev 11:18; 14:9; 19:5, 18
*Rev 14:9, 11; 15:2
*Rev 15:2; 17:9; 21:17