1 And I stood on the sand of the sea. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its horns ten diadems, and on its heads a name of blasphemy.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard; its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth as a lion's mouth. And the dragon handed over to it his power and his throne and great authority.
3 And I saw one of its heads as if it had been slaughtered to death, and its fatal wound was healed; and all the earth was filled with wonder and went after the beast.
4 They worshiped the dragon, who had given authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is equal to the beast? Who can wage war against it?"
5 It was given a mouth that spoke boastful things and blasphemies, and it was given authority to carry on for forty-two months.
6 So it opened its mouth in blasphemy toward God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and those who make their dwelling in heaven.
7 And it was allowed to wage war on the saints and to conquer them; and it was given authority over every tribe and language and nation.
8 And all who live on the earth will worship it, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain from the founding of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
10 Whoever gathers others into captivity goes off into captivity; whoever kills with the sword must himself be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11 And I saw another beast coming up from the earth; it had two horns like a lamb's, and it was speaking like a dragon.
12 It wields all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
13 And it works great signs, so as even to bring fire down from heaven to the earth before the eyes of men.
14 And it leads astray those who live on the earth by means of the signs it was permitted to work in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image for the beast that has the sword wound and came back to life.
15 And it was permitted to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak, and would cause all who did not worship the image of the beast to be put to death.
16 It sees to it that all—the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the servants—are given a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that nobody is able to buy or sell except the one who bears the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name.
18 Here is wisdom. Whoever has understanding, let him reckon the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six.