The First Beast
1 And I saw a beast rising qout of the sea, with ten horns and rseven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was slike a leopard; its feet were tlike a bear’s, and its mouth was ulike a lion’s mouth. And to it the vdragon gave his power and whis throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth xmarveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they yworshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, z“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
5 And the beast was given aa mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for bforty-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 cto make war on the saints and to dconquer them.2 And authority was given it over every etribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the fbook of life of the gLamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an hear, let him hear:
10 iIf anyone is to be taken captive,
to captivity he goes;
if anyone is to be slain with the sword,
with the sword must he be slain.
jHere is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
The Second Beast
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and kit 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, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great lsigns, even making fire mcome 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 it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that 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 nworship the image of the beast oto be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,5 to be marked on the right hand or the pforehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has qthe mark, that is, the name of the beast or rthe number of its name. 18 sThis calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.6
The Lamb and the 144,000
1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the tLamb, and with him u144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name vwritten on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven wlike the roar of many waters and xlike the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a ynew song before the throne and before the zfour living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been aredeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as bfirstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and cin their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel dto proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every enation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, f“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, g“Fallen, fallen is hBabylon the great, she who made all nations drink the iwine of the passion7 of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his jforehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the kwine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with lfire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And mthe smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, nday or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives othe mark of its name.”
12 pHere is a call for the endurance of the saints, qthose who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.8
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, r“Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may srest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
The Harvest of the Earth
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, tand seated on the cloud uone like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, v“Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the 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, the 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, for 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 wwinepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.9
The Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
1 Then I saw another xsign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
2 And I saw what appeared to be a ysea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had zconquered the beast and its image and athe number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing bthe song of Moses, the servant of God, and cthe song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
dJust and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!10
4 eWho will not ffear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are gholy.
hAll nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the itent11 of witness in heaven jwas opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, kwith golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the lfour living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary mwas filled with nsmoke 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 stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I uknowledge of the Holy One.
4 Who has vascended to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered the wind in his fists?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
wWhat is his name, and what is his son’s name?
Surely you know!
5 xEvery word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do 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 before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
yfeed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and zsteal
and profane the name of my God.
10 Do not slander a servant to his master,
lest he curse you, and you be held guilty.
11 There are those3 who curse their afathers
and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are bclean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
14 There are those whose teeth are swords,
whose cfangs are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.
15 The leech has two daughters:
Give and Give.4
dThree things are never satisfied;
four never say, “Enough”:
16 eSheol, the barren womb,
the land never satisfied with water,
and the fire that never says, “Enough.”
17 The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be picked out by the ravens of the valley
and featen by the vultures.
18 Three things are gtoo wonderful for me;
four 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 hadulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”
21 Under three things the earth trembles;
under four it cannot bear up:
22 a slave when he becomes king,
and a fool when he is filled with food;
23 ian unloved woman when she jgets a husband,
and ka maidservant when she displaces her mistress.
24 Four things on earth are small,
but they are exceedingly wise:
25 the lants are a people not strong,
yet they provide their food in the summer;
26 the rock badgers are a people not mighty,
yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
27 mthe locusts have no king,
yet all of them nmarch in rank;
28 the lizard you can take in your hands,
yet it is in kings’ palaces.
29 Three things are stately in their tread;
four are stately in their stride:
30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
and does not turn back before any;
31 the strutting 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,
oput your hand on your mouth.
33 For pressing milk produces curds,
pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.
