Revelation 13:7

13:7 The beast 1  was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. 2  He was given ruling authority 3  over every tribe, people, 4  language, and nation,

Revelation 13:15

13:15 The second beast 5  was empowered 6  to give life 7  to the image of the first beast 8  so that it could speak, and could cause all those who did not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

1 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.

2 tc Many mss omit the phrase “it was given to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Ì47 A C 2053 ÏA sa). It is, however, found in Ì115vid א 051 1006 (1611) 1841 (1854) 2329 2344 2351 (ÏK) lat syph,(h) bo. Although the ms evidence is somewhat in favor of the shorter reading, the support of Ì115 (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.

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

4 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.

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

6 tn Grk “it was given [permitted] to it [the second beast].”

7 tn Grk “breath,” but in context the point is that the image of the first beast is made to come to life and speak.

8 tn Grk “of the beast”; the word “first” has been supplied to specify the referent.