1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a Beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, ten diadems on his horns, and blasphemous titles on his heads.
2 The Beast I saw resembled a leopard, his feet were like a bear's, and his mouth like a lion's. To him the dragon gave his own power and his own throne and great authority.
3 One of his heads looked as if it had been slain and killed, but the deadly wound was healed, and the whole earth went after him in wonder,
4 worshipping the dragon for having given authority to the Beast, and worshipping the Beast with the cry, "Who is like the Beast? Who can fight with him?"
5 He was allowed to utter loud and blasphemous vaunts, and allowed to exert authority for two and forty months;
6 so he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name and his dwelling (that is, the dwellers in heaven).
7 He was allowed to wage war on the saints and to conquer them, and given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation;
8 and all the dwellers on earth will be his worshippers, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of Life.
9 Let anyone who has an ear listen: ??10 Whoever is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes: whoever kills with the sword, by the sword must he be killed. This is what shows the patience and the faith of the saints.
11 Then I saw another Beast rising from the land; he had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
12 He exerts the full authority of the first Beast in his presence, causing the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 He performs amazing miracles, even making fire descend from heaven on earth in the sight of men,
14 and by dint of the miracles he is allowed to perform in presence of the Beast, he seduces the dwellers on earth; he bids the dwellers on earth erect a statue to the Beast who lived after being wounded by the sword,
15 and to this statue of the Beast he was allowed to impart the breath of life, so that the statue of the Beast should actually speak. He has everyone put to death who will not worship the statue of the Beast,
16 and he obliges all men, low and high, rich and poor, freemen and slaves alike, to have a mark put upon their right hand or their forehead,
17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he bears the mark, that is, the name of the Beast or the cipher of his name.