Revelation 13

I stood on the sand beside the sea. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns. On its horns were ten royal crowns, and on its heads were names that insulted God.

1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.

NoteThe seven heads, ten horns and beast rising from the sea draw on Daniel 7, where four beasts come up out of the sea and the fourth has ten horns. In this imagery the sea is the place of chaos and hostile power, and a horn is a standard figure for a king or a kingdom. The "crowns" here translate a Greek word meaning a royal headband worn by a monarch, not the wreath given to a winning athlete. "Blasphemy" in Greek means insulting or slanderous speech, and it was used especially of claiming honors that belong to God; the names on the heads are titles of that kind.

2The beast I saw looked like a leopard. Its feet were like a bear's feet, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority.

2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Note"Seat" in 1611 English means a throne, the seat of office, not a chair. The leopard, bear and lion are the first three beasts of Daniel 7, so this single beast combines all of them.

3One of the beast's heads looked as if it had been wounded so badly it should have died. But that deadly wound was healed. The whole world was amazed and followed after the beast.

3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.

Note"Wondered after" combines two ideas that have since separated: "wonder" here means to be astonished, not to be curious, and "after" carries the sense of following along behind. The whole world both marveled at the beast and went after it.

4People worshiped the dragon, because he had given his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight a war against it?"

4And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

Note"Who is like unto the beast?" copies the shape of a question used in the Hebrew scriptures as praise of God, as in "Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?" (Exodus 15:11). The form of the acclamation is the point.

5The beast was given a mouth to speak proud words and words that insulted God. It was given authority to act for forty-two months.

5And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

NoteForty-two months is three and a half years. The same span appears in this book as 1,260 days and as "a time, and times, and half a time," and it comes from Daniel, where it marks a fixed and limited period of persecution. "Great things" here means boastful things, not good ones.

6It opened its mouth to speak against God, insulting his name and the place where he lives, that is, those who live in heaven.

6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

NoteA "tabernacle" is a tent, specifically the portable sanctuary Israel carried in the wilderness; the word came to stand for the place where God dwells. The Greek allows the last phrase to be read two ways: as slandering God's dwelling and, separately, those who live in heaven, or as identifying the dwelling with those who live in heaven. Both readings are live, and translations divide.

7The beast was allowed to make war against God's people and to defeat them. It was given authority over every tribe, every language, and every nation.

7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Note"Saints" translates a word meaning holy ones, that is, people set apart as God's own. It is a term for the whole body of believers, not for a special class of exceptionally good individuals. "Kindreds" means tribes, and "tongues" means languages.

8Everyone living on the earth will worship the beast. That means everyone whose name has not been written, since the world was made, in the book of life that belongs to the Lamb who was killed.

8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

NoteThe "book of life" borrows the image of a city register listing its citizens; to be written in it is to be enrolled among the living. The Greek word order in this verse is genuinely ambiguous: "from the foundation of the world" can attach either to the writing of the names, as most modern translations take it, or to the Lamb being slain, as the King James takes it. The chapter offers no way to settle it.

9If anyone has an ear, let him listen.

9If any man have an ear, let him hear.

NoteA fixed formula in this book, repeated at the end of each of the seven letters in chapters 2 and 3. It marks what precedes or follows as something demanding close attention.

10Whoever is meant to be taken away as a prisoner will be taken away as a prisoner. Whoever kills with a sword must himself be killed with a sword. This calls for God's people to endure and to keep trusting.

10He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

NoteThis verse echoes Jeremiah 15:2, where captivity and the sword are listed as fates already assigned. The Greek manuscripts differ here, and the first line can be read two ways: as a statement about the destined, "if anyone is for captivity, to captivity he goes," or as a reversal aimed at the persecutor, "he that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity," which is the reading the King James follows. "Patience" in 1611 English means steadfast endurance under pressure, not calm waiting.

11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

NoteHorns stand for power, so two horns is a modest showing next to the first beast's ten. The contrast being drawn is between how this beast looks, like a lamb, and how it sounds, like the dragon.

12This second beast used all the authority of the first beast on the first beast's behalf. It made the earth and everyone living on it worship the first beast, the one whose deadly wound had been healed.

12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Note"Before him" renders a Greek phrase that means both "in his presence" and "acting on his authority," the way a deputy acts in the name of the ruler he stands in front of.

13It performed great signs. It even made fire come down from the sky to the earth while people watched.

13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

Note"Wonders" translates the word usually rendered "signs," meaning displays meant to prove a claim rather than curiosities. Calling fire down from heaven is what Elijah did on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18, which is the act being imitated here.

14It fooled the people living on the earth by the signs it was allowed to do on behalf of the first beast. It told them to make a statue to honor the beast that had been wounded by a sword and yet had lived.

14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

NoteAn "image" here is a cult statue, an object set up to be honored rather than a picture. In the Roman provinces of the first century, statues of the emperor stood in temples and public places, and offering incense before one was a recognized test of loyalty.

15The second beast was allowed to give breath to the statue of the first beast, so that the statue could even speak. and cause anyone who refused to worship the statue to be killed.

15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

NoteThe Greek word behind "life" is the ordinary word for breath or spirit; the statue is given breath so that it can speak. Ancient writers describe temple statues made to appear to move or speak by hidden mechanisms, and the language here would have called such things to mind.

16It forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free people and slaves, to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.

16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Note"Bond" is the old term for enslaved, the opposite of free; the pairs in this verse are a way of saying everyone without exception. The "mark" translates a word used for an official stamp on a document or coin, and also for a brand burned into the skin of a slave or a soldier. The right hand and the forehead are the two places where Israelites were told to bind the words of the law (Deuteronomy 6:8), so the mark is a deliberate counterpart.

17So no one could buy or sell unless he had that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number that stands for its name.

17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

NoteBuying and selling cover the whole of ordinary economic life, including markets attached to temples and trade guilds with their own patron gods. The point is exclusion from the means of living, not a single transaction.

18This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has understanding work out the number of the beast, because it is a man's number. His number is 666.

18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Note"Threescore" means sixty, so the number is six hundred sixty-six. Both Greek and Hebrew used their letters as numerals, so every name carried a numeric value, and working out the total of a name was a known practice with a name of its own, gematria. "Count the number" invites exactly that calculation. Ancient graffiti show the game being played casually, as in "I love her whose number is 545." Some early manuscripts read 616 rather than 666.