Issuing from the mouth: instead of following the order of the Greek text, as Revised Standard Version does, it may be better to restructure the verse in order to avoid having the long participial clause issuing from … false prophet separating the main verb I saw from its object three foul spirits. Good News Translation provides a useful model.

The dragon … the beast … the false prophet: from now on the second beast, the one that came up out of the earth (13.11-15), is called the false prophet (see 19.20; 20.10). This defines his role as the spokesman of the first beast, with the task of misleading people with his message. In this case one may also express this as “the second beast, the one who gave a false message.”

Foul spirits: the adjective is the same one in the Gospels and Acts that is translated “unclean (spirits).” These are evil spirits, or demons, that possessed people and made them ritually unclean and so unable to participate in ordinary religious and social affairs until they were made ritually pure once more. Here the adjective may not have that specialized sense and may mean more generally “terrible” or “evil.” See 2.10 for further discussion on the translation of “demons,” “devil,” or “evil spirits.”

Like frogs: that is, they had the shape of frogs. In languages where frogs are unknown, other loathsome-looking creatures should be used. However, a picture of frogs may also be helpful.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• Then I saw three disgusting-looking spirits (or, demons) that looked like frogs. They were coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the first beast, and the mouth of the second beast, the one who gave a false message.

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 .