By the signs … it deceives those who dwell on earth: for deceives see 2.20, where the same Greek word is translated “is beguiling,” and see “deceiver” in 12.9. Care must be taken that there is no confusion on the identity of the two beasts; if necessary the translation can say here “the second beast is allowed.” Again the phrase those who dwell on earth is used of those who are not God’s people (see its use in 3.10; 6.10; 8.13; 13.8, 12).
It is allowed to work: the passive indicates that only by God’s consent was the second beast able to perform its miracles. So one may translate “God allowed it to do its work.”
In the presence of the beast: here the beast is the first beast of 13.1-8. The picture seems to be that of the second beast performing the miracles while the first beast looked on, much like a master magician performing in the presence of the king.
Bidding them make an image: this is the specific way in which the second beast deceived people: it led them into idolatry. Bidding may be rendered as “commanded” or “ordered.” The word translated image may be translated “idol” or “statue” (Moffatt, An American Translation, Phillips). See also 2.14.
It deceives: see comments under 2.20, where it is translated “is beguiling.”
For the beast: here it is better to say “in honor of the beast”; it appears that this was a statue of the first beast that people were to worship, as seems clear from the information in the following verse about breathing life into this image. To make this explicit one may also say “in honor of that first beast.”
Which was wounded by the sword and yet lived: the text seems to mean, more precisely, “that was mortally wounded (or, put to death) by the sword and came back to life” or “that someone had killed with a sword, and it….” The meaning is not that the beast survived a serious wound, but that it came back to life after having been killed (see a similar statement in 2.8, where the same form of the verb “to live” is used). Of major modern translations, however, only Barclay and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible say “came back to life,” “lived again” (New American Bible, Revised “revived” seems to imply that the beast had lost consciousness). Only here is the detail by the sword added. There is no way of knowing who delivered the fatal sword thrust. Many commentators see this as a deliberate allusion to Nero, who took his own life with his sword.
Alternative translation models for this verse are:
• The second beast was allowed (by God) to perform miracles in the presence of the first beast. By means of these miracles he was able to cause all people on earth to go astray. He ordered them to build a statue of (or, make an image in honor of) the first beast, the one who had been killed by the sword but had come back to life.
Or:
• The second beast led all the people living on the earth astray through the marvelous deeds that God allowed it to perform while the first beast was watching. He commanded them, saying, “You must build a statue of the first beast….”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .