Revelation 13:3-8

13:3 One of the beast’s¹ heads appeared to have been killed,² but the lethal wound had been healed.³ And the whole world followed⁴ the beast in amazement; 13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority⁵ to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?”⁶ 13:5 The beast⁷ was given a mouth speaking proud words⁸ and blasphemies, and he was permitted⁹ to exercise ruling authority¹⁰ for forty-two months. 13:6 So¹¹ the beast¹² opened his mouth to blaspheme against God – to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place,¹³ that is, those who dwell in heaven. 13:7 The beast¹⁴ was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them.¹⁵ He was given ruling authority¹⁶ over every tribe, people,¹⁷ language, and nation, 13:8 and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast,¹⁸ everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world¹⁹ in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed.²⁰

¹tn 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.

²tn 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.

³tn 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.

⁴tn 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).”

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

⁶tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.

⁷tn 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.

⁸tn For the translation “proud words” (Grk “great things” or “important things”) see BDAG 624 s.v. μέγας 4.b.

⁹tn Grk “to it was granted.”

¹⁰tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

¹¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the permission granted to the beast.

¹²tn Grk “he” (or “it”); the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³tc 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).

¹⁴tn 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.

¹⁵tc Many mss omit the phrase “it was given to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Ì⁴⁷ A C 2053 Ï^A sa). It is, however, found in Ì^115vid א 051 1006 (1611) 1841 (1854) 2329 2344 2351 (Ï^K) lat sy^ph,(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.

¹⁶tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

¹⁷tn 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.

¹⁸tn Grk “it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹tn The prepositional phrase “since the foundation of the world” is traditionally translated as a modifier of the immediately preceding phrase in the Greek text, “the Lamb who was killed” (so also G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 168), but it is more likely that the phrase “since the foundation of the world” modifies the verb “written” (as translated above). Confirmation of this can be found in Rev 17:8 where the phrase “written in the book of life since the foundation of the world” occurs with no ambiguity.

²⁰tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”