Revelation 13

¹ Then I saw a beast emerge from the sea:[*a] it had seven heads and ten horns, with a coronet on each of its ten horns, and its heads were marked with blasphemous titles.[*b]

² I saw that the beast was like a leopard, with paws like a bear and a mouth like a lion;[*c] the dragon had handed over to it his own power and his throne and his worldwide authority.

³ I saw that one of its heads seemed to have had a fatal wound but that this deadly injury had healed and, after that, the whole world had marvelled and followed the beast.

⁴ They prostrated themselves in front of the dragon because he had given the beast his authority; and they prostrated themselves in front of the beast, saying, ‘Who can compare with the beast?[*d] How could anybody defeat him?’

⁵ For forty-two months the beast was allowed to mouth its boasts[*e] and blasphemies and to do whatever it wanted;

⁶ and it mouthed its blasphemies against God, against his name, his heavenly Tent and all those who are sheltered there.

⁷ It was allowed to make war against the saints and conquer them, and given power over every race, people, language and nation;

⁸ and all people of the world will worship it, that is, everybody whose name has not been written down since the foundation of the world in the book of life of the sacrificial Lamb.

⁹ If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen:

¹⁰ Captivity for those who are destined for captivity; the sword for those who are to die by the sword.[*f] This is why the saints must have constancy and faith.

¹¹ Then I saw a second beast;[*g] it emerged from the ground; it had two horns like a lamb, but made a noise like a dragon.

¹² This second beast was servant to the first beast, and extended its authority everywhere, making the world and all its people worship the first beast, which had had the fatal wound and had been healed.

¹³ And it worked great miracles, even to calling down fire from heaven on to the earth while people watched.

¹⁴ Through the miracles which it was allowed to do on behalf of the first beast, it was able to win over the people of the world and persuade them to put up a statue in honour of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and still lived.

¹⁵ It was allowed to breathe life into this statue, so that the statue of the beast was able to speak, and to have anyone who refused to worship the statue of the beast[*h] put to death.

¹⁶ He compelled everyone – small and great, rich and poor, slave and citizen – to be branded on the right hand or on the forehead,

¹⁷ and made it illegal for anyone to buy or sell anything unless he had been branded with the name of the beast or with the number of its name.

¹⁸ There is need for shrewdness here: if anyone is clever enough he may interpret the number of the beast: it is the number of a man, the number 666[*i].