Revelation 13:1-6

The Two Beasts

13:1 Then ¹  I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It ²  had ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadem crowns, ³  and on its heads a blasphemous name. ⁴  13:2 Now ⁵  the beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The ⁶  dragon gave the beast ⁷  his power, his throne, and great authority to rule. ⁸  13:3 One of the beast’s ⁹  heads appeared to have been killed, ¹⁰  but the lethal wound had been healed. ¹¹  And the whole world followed ¹²  the beast in amazement; 13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority ¹³  to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?” ¹⁴  13:5 The beast ¹⁵  was given a mouth speaking proud words ¹⁶  and blasphemies, and he was permitted ¹⁷  to exercise ruling authority ¹⁸  for forty-two months. 13:6 So ¹⁹  the beast ²⁰  opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, ²¹  that is, those who dwell in heaven.

Daniel 7:8

7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. ²²  This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant ²³  things.

Daniel 7:20

7:20 I also wanted to know ²⁴  the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes ²⁵  and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. ²⁶ 

Daniel 7:25

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.

He will harass ²⁷  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ²⁸  will be to change times established by law. ²⁹ 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ³⁰  and half a time.

Daniel 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ³¹  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ³²  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ³³ 

Daniel 11:2

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ³⁴  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ³⁵  king will be unusually rich, ³⁶  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ³⁷  the kingdom of Greece.

Daniel 2:4

2:4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic ³⁸ ] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its ³⁹  interpretation.”

[13:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[13:1]  ² tn Grk “having” (a continuation of the previous sentence). All of the pronouns referring to this beast (along with the second beast appearing in 13:11) could be translated as “it” because the word for beast (θηρίον, qhrion) is neuter gender in Greek and all the pronouns related to it are parsed as neuter in the Gramcord/Accordance database. Nevertheless, most interpreters would agree that the beast ultimately represents a human ruler, so beginning at the end of v. 4 the masculine pronouns (“he,” “him,” etc.) are used to refer to the first beast as well as the second beast appearing in 13:11.

[13:1]  ³ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[13:1]  ⁴ tc ‡ Several mss (A 051 1611 1854 2053 2344 2351 Ï^K) read the plural ὀνόματα (onomata, “[blasphemous] names”), while the singular ὄνομα (onoma, “name”) has somewhat better support (Ì⁴⁷ א C 1006 1841 2329 Ï^A). The plural reading seems motivated by the fact that what is written is written “on its heads.” In the least, it is a clarifying reading. NA²⁷ puts the plural in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[13:2]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the following description of the beast.

[13:2]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “gave it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:2]  ⁸ tn For the translation “authority to rule” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “one of its heads”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “killed to death,” an expression emphatic in its redundancy. The phrase behind this translation is ὡς ἐσφαγμένον (Jw" ejsfagmenon). The particle ὡς is used in Greek generally for comparison, and in Revelation it is used often to describe the appearance of what the author saw. In this instance, the appearance of the beast’s head did not match reality, because the next phrase shows that in fact it did not die. This text does not affirm that the beast died and was resurrected, but some draw this conclusion because of the only other use of the phrase, which refers to Jesus in 5:6.

[13:3]  ¹¹ tn The phrase τοῦ θανάτου (tou qanatou) can be translated as an attributive genitive (“deathly wound”) or an objective genitive (the wound which caused death) and the final αὐτοῦ (autou) is either possessive or reference/respect.

[13:3]  ¹² tn On the phrase “the whole world followed the beast in amazement,” BDAG 445 s.v. θαυμάζω 2 states, “wonder, be amazed…Rv 17:8. In pregnant constr. ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τ. θηρίου the whole world followed the beast, full of wonder 13:3 (here wonder becomes worship: cp. Ael. Aristid. 13 p. 290 D.; 39 p. 747 of Dionysus and Heracles, οἳ ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐθαυμάσθησαν. Sir 7:29; Jos., Ant. 3, 65. – The act. is also found in this sense: Cebes 2, 3 θ. τινά = ‘admire’ or ‘venerate’ someone; Epict. 1, 17, 19 θ. τὸν θεόν).”

[13:4]  ¹³ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:4]  ¹⁴ tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

[13:5]  ¹⁵ 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.

[13:5]  ¹⁶ tn For the translation “proud words” (Grk “great things” or “important things”) see BDAG 624 s.v. μέγας 4.b.

[13:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “to it was granted.”

[13:5]  ¹⁸ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:6]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

[13:6]  ²⁰ tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ²¹ 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).

[7:8]  ²² tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”

[7:8]  ²³ tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.

[7:20]  ²⁴ tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:20]  ²⁵ tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.

[7:20]  ²⁶ tn Aram “greater than its companions.”

[7:25]  ²⁷ tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”

[7:25]  ²⁸ tn Aram “he will think.”

[7:25]  ²⁹ tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

[7:25]  ³⁰ sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”

[11:36]  ³¹ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ³² tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ³³ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[11:2]  ³⁴ sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522 B.C.), Pseudo-Smerdis (ca. 522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.).

[11:2]  ³⁵ sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.

[11:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ³⁷ tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.

[2:4]  ³⁸ sn Contrary to common belief, the point here is not that the wise men (Chaldeans) replied to the king in the Aramaic language, or that this language was uniquely the language of the Chaldeans. It was this view that led in the past to Aramaic being referred to as “Chaldee.” Aramaic was used as a lingua franca during this period; its origins and usage were not restricted to the Babylonians. Rather, this phrase is better understood as an editorial note (cf. NAB) marking the fact that from 2:4b through 7:28 the language of the book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. In 8:1, and for the remainder of the book, the language returns to Hebrew. Various views have been advanced to account for this change of language, most of which are unconvincing. Most likely the change in language is a reflection of stages in the transmission history of the book of Daniel.

[2:4]  ³⁹ tn Or “the.”