Revelation 13:5-8

13:5 The beast ¹  was given a mouth speaking proud words ²  and blasphemies, and he was permitted ³  to exercise ruling authority ⁴  for forty-two months. 13:6 So ⁵  the beast ⁶  opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, ⁷  that is, those who dwell in heaven. 13:7 The beast ⁸  was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. ⁹  He was given ruling authority ¹⁰  over every tribe, people, ¹¹  language, and nation, 13:8 and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, ¹²  everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world ¹³  in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed. ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Grk “and there was given to him.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn For the translation “proud words” (Grk “great things” or “important things”) see BDAG 624 s.v. μέγας 4.b.

³ tn Grk “to it was granted.”

⁴ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

⁶ tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tc The reading “and his dwelling place” does not occur in codex C, but its omission is probably due to scribal oversight since the phrase has the same ending as the phrase before it, i.e., they both end in “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou). This is similar to the mistake this scribe made in 12:14 with the omission of the reading “and half a time” (καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ, kai {hmisu kairou).

⁸ tn Grk “and it was given to him to go to war.” Here the passive construction has been simplified, the referent (the beast) has been specified for clarity, and καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁹ tc Many mss omit the phrase “it was given to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Ì⁴⁷ A C 2053 Ï^A sa). It is, however, found in Ì^115vid א 051 1006 (1611) 1841 (1854) 2329 2344 2351 (Ï^K) lat sy^ph,(h) bo. Although the ms evidence is somewhat in favor of the shorter reading, the support of ̹¹⁵ (a recently-discovered ms) for the longer reading balances things out. Normally, the shorter reading should be given preference. However, in an instance in which homoioteleuton could play a role, caution must be exercised. In this passage, accidental omission is quite likely. That this could have happened seems apparent from the two occurrences of the identical phrase “and it was given to him” (καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ, kai edoqh autw) in v. 7. The scribe’s eye skipped over the first καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ and went to the second, hence creating an accidental omission of eleven words.

¹⁰ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

¹¹ tn Grk “and people,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

¹² tn Grk “it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn The prepositional phrase “since the foundation of the world” is traditionally translated as a modifier of the immediately preceding phrase in the Greek text, “the Lamb who was killed” (so also G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 168), but it is more likely that the phrase “since the foundation of the world” modifies the verb “written” (as translated above). Confirmation of this can be found in Rev 17:8 where the phrase “written in the book of life since the foundation of the world” occurs with no ambiguity.

¹⁴ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”