The First Beast
1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, owith ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and pblasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was qlike a leopard; its feet were like ra bear’s, and its mouth was like sa lion’s mouth. And to it tthe dragon gave his power and uhis throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and vthe whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, w“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given xa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for yforty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,1 that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed zto make war on the saints and to conquer them.2 And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all awho dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in bthe book of life of cthe Lamb dwho was slain. 9 eIf anyone has an ear, let him hear:
10 fIf anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
gif anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
hHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Second Beast
11 Then iI saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,3 and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, jwhose mortal wound was healed. 13 kIt performs great signs, even lmaking fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of4 the beast mit deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast nthat was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not oworship the image of the beast pto be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,5 qto be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, rthe name of the beast or sthe number of its name. 18 tThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number uof a man, and his number is 666.6
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and behold, on vMount Zion wstood the Lamb, and with him x144,000 who yhad his name and his Father’s name written zon their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven alike the roar of many waters and blike the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of charpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing da new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. eNo one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for fthey are virgins. It is these gwho follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as hfirstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and iin their mouth no lie was found, for they are jblameless.
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel kflying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to lthose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, m“Fear God and ngive him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and oworship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the psprings of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, q“Fallen, fallen is rBabylon the great, sshe who made all nations drink tthe wine of the passion7 of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone uworships the beast and its image and receives va mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink wthe wine of God’s wrath, xpoured full strength into the cup of his anger, and yhe will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And zthe smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and athey have no rest, day or night, these uworshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12 bHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who ckeep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.8
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: dBlessed are the dead ewho die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, f“that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
The Harvest of the Earth
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one glike a son of man, hwith a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel icame out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, j“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for kthe harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, lthe angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, mfor its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great nwinepress of the wrath of God. 20 And othe winepress was trodden poutside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as qa horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.9
The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
1 Then rI saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, sseven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
2 And I saw twhat appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those uwho had conquered the beast and its image and vthe number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass wwith harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing xthe song of Moses, ythe servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
z“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
aJust and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!10
4 bWho will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are choly.
dAll nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After this I looked, and ethe sanctuary of fthe tent11 of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came gthe seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright ilinen, jwith golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of kthe four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven lgolden bowls full of the wrath of God mwho lives forever and ever, 8 and nthe sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and ono one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
The Words of Agur
1 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.1
The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.2
2 Surely I am too mstupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of nthe Holy One.
4 Who has oascended to heaven and come down?
Who has pgathered the wind in his fists?
Who has qwrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all rthe ends of the earth?
sWhat is his name, and what is his son’s name?
Surely you know!
5 tEvery word of God proves true;
he is ua shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 vDo not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me wbefore I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is xneedful for me,
9 lest I be yfull and zdeny you
and say, a“Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
band profane the name of my God.
10 cDo not slander a servant to his master,
dlest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11 There are those3 who ecurse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are fclean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
13 There are those—how glofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14 There are those whose teeth are hswords,
whose ifangs are knives,
to jdevour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.4
kThree things are never satisfied;
kfour never say, “Enough”:
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that nmocks a father
and oscorns to obey a mother
will pbe picked out by qthe ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
18 kThree things are rtoo wonderful for me;
kfour I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a virgin.
20 This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under kthree things sthe earth trembles;
under kfour it cannot bear up:
22 ta slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is ufilled with food;
23 van unloved woman when she wgets a husband,
and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 kFour things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25 xthe ants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 ythe rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 the locusts have no zking,
yet all of them march in arank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29 bThree things are stately in their tread;
bfour are stately in their stride:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and cdoes not turn back before any;
31 the dstrutting rooster,5 the he-goat,
and a king whose army is with him.6
32 If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,
or if you have been devising evil,
eput your hand on your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
