| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. | 1Then I saw a beast rising up out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns on its horns. And written on each head were names that blasphemed God. |
| 2Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. | 2This beast looked like a leopard, but it had the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion! And the dragon gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority. |
| 3And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. | 3I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. |
| 4So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” | 4They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. “Who is as great as the beast?” they exclaimed. “Who is able to fight against him?” |
| 5And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. | 5Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. |
| 6Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. | 6And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven. |
| 7It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. | 7And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. |
| 8All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. | 8And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made. |
| 9If anyone has an ear, let him hear. | 9Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. |
| 10He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. | 10Anyone who is destined for prison will be taken to prison. Anyone destined to die by the sword will die by the sword. This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently and remain faithful. The Beast out of the Earth |
| 11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. | 11Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon. |
| 12And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. | 12He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. |
| 13He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. | 13He did astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. |
| 14And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. | 14And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. |
| 15He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. | 15He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. |
| 16He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, | 16He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. |
| 17and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. | 17And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. |
| 18Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. | 18Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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