The beast that you saw: the past tense of the verb, saw, may imply that the vision had disappeared. But it may simply be the writer’s way of referring to the vision. Good News Translation has not represented that you saw, but it is better to retain it, using the tense of the verb that indicates a completed action in the past. The beast is the one described in 13.1, which now reappears in the book. One may also say “the beast that you have just seen.”

Was, and is not: this can be said “was alive once, but is now dead,” “was alive, but lives no longer.”

Is to ascend from the bottomless pit: see 11.7. For the auxiliary verb translated is to, see comments on “are about to” in 2.10. For bottomless pit see 9.1. This is a kind of resurrection, but the language used should not state here that the beast will be raised to life. In 13.14 this beast is described as having received a mortal wound, but it had come back to life. Here, as elsewhere in the book, the abyss is the realm of evil, destruction, and death.

Go to perdition: this is better translated “go to destruction.” The translation should not imply that willingly and deliberately the beast goes off to be destroyed. The meaning is that it is destined to be destroyed (by Christ; see 19.20). In languages that do not use the passive, this may be rendered as “go off to receive destruction” or “… for Christ (or, God) to destroy.” For the translation of destroy see 11.18.

The dwellers on earth: see 3.10.

Whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world: see 3.5; 13.8. In certain languages this will be expressed as “whose names God did not write in the book of the living before he created the world.”

Will marvel to behold the beast: this is better translated “will be astonished when they see the beast” (see also comments on 13.3).

Because it was and is not and is to come: Revised Standard Version has because as the translation of the Greek conjunction, but it may be understood as a relative, “that” (as Good News Translation translates): “the beast that was…” (also Revised English Bible). Others take it to mean “when they saw that the beast was alive….” It is recommended that Revised Standard Version not be followed here.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• That beast you just now saw was once alive, but lives no longer; it is about to come up out of the deep pit and will go off to receive destruction (or, for Christ [or, God] to destroy it). The people living on earth whose names God did not write in the book of the living before he created the world will all be amazed (or, have shivering hearts [or, livers]) as they look at the beast. It was once alive; now it no longer lives; but it will come back again.

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 .