blaspheme, blasphemy

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “blasphemy” or “blaspheme” is translated in various forms:

complete verse (Revelation 13:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 13:1:

  • Uma: “After that, I saw an animal appear from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On each of its horns there was the hat of a king, and on each of its heads were written words reviling God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then, I saw something like a creature come out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns. His horns had crowns and on his foreheads were written bad names as far as God is concerned.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The dragon stood on the shore of the sea.Then I saw a very fearful beast coming up out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads. There was a crown placed on each of his horns, and on each of his head there was a written a name by which he transgressed God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then I saw a terrible/fearsome animal coming-out of the ocean. He had seven heads and ten horns. All his horns were crowned, and each of his heads was written-on with a name of God which he had no authority to use.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “What that dragon did was, he went to the shore of the ocean. To follow next, I saw coming ashore from the ocean a monster which was alien/strange to the world. He also had seven heads branching out and ten horns, each of those horns having a crown on it. And his names were written on each of his heads, each one of these really insulting/belittling God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I stood at the edge of the sea. I saw there in the sea that there was emerging a terrible animal which had seven heads and ten horns. On each of the horns there was a crown. On its heads were written names which displeased God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation). Likewise, in Toposa all the different bodies of water are all called by one term as well: nya-name̥ (source: Schröder 2026, p. 101).

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

“Sea” (or: “ocean”) is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “water land” and in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “very big lake.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

Translation commentary on Revelation 13:1

A beast: see 11.7, which speaks of the beast that came out of the abyss (see also 17.8); the beast here comes out of the sea. It is possible that the two are the same beast, since “the abyss” was often used to refer to the depths of the ocean. In any case the translated text will not establish any clear relationship between the two. Beast, in certain languages where there are only the two categories, domesticated or wild, will need defining phrases such as “a terrible wild animal,” “a huge, horrible animal,” or even “a frightening, savage animal.”

Rising out of the sea: as in 10.2, it is futile to try to identify this as a specific body of water (see Dan 7.3).

Ten horns … seven heads … ten diadems upon its horns: like the dragon (12.3) this marine beast has seven heads and ten horns; but unlike the dragon this beast has a diadem on each of its ten horns. These diadems indicate his royal status. For diadems see 12.3.

A blasphemous name upon its heads: Revised Standard Version translates a Greek text that has the singular name; Good News Translation translates a text that has the plural “names.” The text translated by Good News Bible is preferable, and the translation can be, like Good News Bible, “a name on each of its heads” or “names on its heads.” Here blasphemous means “insulting to God” (see “slander” in 2.9). The common interpretation is that these are names, or titles, that should be used only of God, such as “Lord,” “God,” “Almighty,” “Divine,” “Worthy of Worship.” These seven heads represent seven rulers (see 17.9-10) who claim divine rank. If this interpretation is correct, then the meaning of blasphemous or “insulting” in this context means “to bring dishonor to God,” “to mock God,” or “be an affront to God.” So an alternative translation model for this final clause is “and on each of its heads there was a name that was an affront to (or, mocked) God.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Revelation 13:1

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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