Section 13:1–10
The first beast rose from the sea
In this section, John saw a beast rise from the sea and described him. The dragon gave authority to this beast. The beast slandered God. The beast killed believers. Non-believers worshiped him.
If you followed option (2) for the textual issue at 12:17d, you should have this section heading before 12:17d.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The beast from the sea
-or-
The beast that blasphemed God
Paragraph 13:1–4
13:1a
Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the clause I saw a beast…rising out of the sea. Introduce or begin this clause naturally in your language. For example:
Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. (Good News Translation)
-or-
I saw a beast coming out of the sea (God’s Word)
a beast: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beast does not have the Greek article (the English definite article is “the”) in front of it. So the English versions translate this as a beast. But 17:3–8 makes it clear that the beast of 11:7 is the same beast here. You should not indicate that the beast here is different from the beast in 11:7.
beast: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beast refers to any animal, often a wild animal. The Berean Standard Bible uses the word beast to imply that this being is fierce, dangerous, and evil. Here the word refers to one of Satan’s servants.
In some languages a literal translation would not clearly indicate the symbolic meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Use a word that clearly refers to an evil creature or being. For example:
monster
• Explain the symbol in a footnote. For example:
The word “beast” refers to one of the devil’s servants. His servants are evil, fierce, and dangerous like wild beasts.
See how you translated this word in 11:7.
with ten horns and seven heads: The beast has the same number of horns and the same number of heads as the dragon (12:3b–c). You should translate literally, as you did in 12:3.
horns: This word refers to horns that are like animal horns.
rising out of the sea: The Greek verb indicates the direction “up.” The beast somehow rose from under the surface of the sea and went to the shore. For example:
rising out of the sea (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
ascending from ⌊the bottom of⌋ the sea
sea: The word sea refers to large bodies of water. A sea is often so large that someone standing on one side cannot see the other side. In Hebrew culture, the sea was a symbol of chaos. Some languages do not have a word or phrase for “sea.” If that is true in your language, you may want to describe it in your translation. For example:
the saltwater ⌊place⌋
-or-
large body of water
-or-
large round water
13:1b
There were ten royal crowns on its horns: Probably each horn had a crown on it.
royal crowns: This word refers to a decorated metal circle that kings usually wear on their heads. The royal crowns here are symbols of the authority to rule people.
In some languages people are not familiar with royal crowns. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain the meaning in your translation. For example:
headpieces/hats of rulers
-or-
headdresses of authority
See how you translated this word in 12:3.
13:1c
blasphemous names on its heads: The words “there were” are implied from 13:1b. In some languages it is more natural to include those words here. For example:
⌊there were⌋ blasphemous names on its heads
Probably each horn had a different blasphemous name.
blasphemous names: The word blasphemous refers to slandering God. The words may say that God is evil. Or they may say that someone else is the true God. The blasphemous names slandered God in some way. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
a name that was insulting to God (Good News Translation)
-or-
names that dishonored God
-or-
names that greatly slandered God
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