Revelation 13:12-17

13:12 He ¹  exercised all the ruling authority ²  of the first beast on his behalf, ³  and made the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast, the one whose lethal wound had been healed. 13:13 He ⁴  performed momentous signs, even making fire come down from heaven in front of people ⁵  13:14 and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth. He told ⁶  those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived. 13:15 The second beast ⁷  was empowered ⁸  to give life ⁹  to the image of the first beast ¹⁰  so that it could speak, and could cause all those who did not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 13:16 He also caused ¹¹  everyone (small and great, rich and poor, free and slave ¹² ) to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. 13:17 Thus no one was allowed to buy ¹³  or sell things ¹⁴  unless he bore ¹⁵  the mark of the beast – that is, his name or his number. ¹⁶ 

Revelation 14:11

14:11 And the smoke from their ¹⁷  torture will go up ¹⁸  forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have ¹⁹  no rest day or night, along with ²⁰  anyone who receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 15:2

15:2 Then ²¹  I saw something like a sea of glass ²²  mixed with fire, and those who had conquered ²³  the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing ²⁴  by ²⁵  the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God. ²⁶ 

Revelation 17:8

17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss ²⁷  and then go to destruction. The ²⁸  inhabitants of the earth – all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world – will be astounded when they see that ²⁹  the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

[13:12]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:12]  ² tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:12]  ³ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[13:13]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:13]  ⁵ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both men and women.

[13:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.

[13:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the second beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “it was given [permitted] to it [the second beast].”

[13:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “breath,” but in context the point is that the image of the first beast is made to come to life and speak.

[13:15]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “of the beast”; the word “first” has been supplied to specify the referent.

[13:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “forced”; Grk “makes” (ποιεῖ, poiei).

[13:16]  ¹² tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[13:17]  ¹³ tn Grk “and that no one be able to buy or sell.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Although the ἵνα (Jina) is left untranslated, the English conjunction “thus” is used to indicate that this is a result clause.

[13:17]  ¹⁴ tn The word “things” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context. In the context of buying and selling, food could be primarily in view, but the more general “things” was used in the translation because the context is not specific.

[13:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “except the one who had.”

[13:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “his name or the number of his name.”

[14:11]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek pronoun is plural here even though the verbs in the previous verse are singular.

[14:11]  ¹⁸ tn The present tense ἀναβαίνει (anabainei) has been translated as a futuristic present (ExSyn 535-36). This is also consistent with the future passive βασανισθήσεται (basanisqhsetai) in v. 10.

[14:11]  ¹⁹ tn The present tense ἔχουσιν (ecousin) has been translated as a futuristic present to keep the English tense consistent with the previous verb (see note on “will go up” earlier in this verse).

[14:11]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and.”

[15:2]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[15:2]  ²² sn See Rev 4:6 where the sea of glass was mentioned previously.

[15:2]  ²³ tn Or “had been victorious over”; traditionally, “had overcome.”

[15:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “of his name, standing.” A new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”

[15:2]  ²⁵ tn Or “on.” The preposition ἐπί (epi) with the accusative case could mean “on, at, by, near”; given the nature of this scene appearing in a vision, it is difficult to know precisely which the author of Revelation intended. See BDAG 363 s.v. ἐπί 1.c.γ, “At, by, near someone or someth.”

[15:2]  ²⁶ tn Grk “harps of God.” The phrase τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of agency.

[17:8]  ²⁷ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

[17:8]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:8]  ²⁹ tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).