Revelation 13:12-17

13:12 He¹ exercised all the ruling authority² 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 He⁴ performed momentous signs, even making fire come down from heaven in front of people⁵ 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 told⁶ 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 beast⁷ was empowered⁸ to give life⁹ to the image of the first beast¹⁰ 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 caused¹¹ everyone (small and great, rich and poor, free and slave¹²) to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. 13:17 Thus no one was allowed to buy¹³ or sell things¹⁴ unless he bore¹⁵ the mark of the beast – that is, his name or his number.¹⁶

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

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

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

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

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

⁶tn Grk “earth, telling.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek.

sn He told followed by an infinitive (“to make an image…”) is sufficiently ambiguous in Greek that it could be taken as “he ordered” (so NIV) or “he persuaded” (so REB).

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

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

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

¹⁰tn Grk “of the beast”; the word “first” has been supplied to specify the referent.

¹¹tn Or “forced”; Grk “makes” (ποιεῖ, poiei).

¹²tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

¹³tn 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.

¹⁴tn 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.

¹⁵tn Grk “except the one who had.”

¹⁶tn Grk “his name or the number of his name.”