Revelation 13 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten royal crowns on its horns, and on each head was a name that insulted God.

The beast I saw looked like a leopard, but had feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. The dragon gave the beast his own power, his own throne, and enormous authority.

One of the beast's heads looked like it had been given a fatal wound, but the deadly wound had been healed. The whole world was amazed and followed the beast.

People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who could possibly fight against it?"

The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant words and to insult God, and it was given authority to act for forty-two months.

It opened its mouth to hurl insults at God — attacking his name, his dwelling place, and everyone who lives in heaven.

It was allowed to wage war against those who are set apart for God and to defeat them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

Everyone living on earth will worship it — everyone whose name has not been written since the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slaughtered.

If anyone has ears, let them hear this:

If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed by the sword, by the sword they will be killed. This is where the endurance and faithfulness of those set apart for God will be tested.

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.

It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and everyone living on it worship the first beast — the one whose fatal wound had been healed.

It performs spectacular signs, even making fire come down from the sky to the earth while people watch.

It deceives everyone living on earth through the signs it was allowed to perform on behalf of the beast. It told the people of the earth to make an image in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet survived.

It was given the power to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image could actually speak, and to have anyone killed who refused to worship the image of the beast.

It also forced everyone — unimportant and powerful, rich and poor, free and enslaved — to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

so that no one could buy or sell unless they had the mark — the beast's name or the number of its name.

This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight figure out the number of the beast, because it is the number of a human being. That number is 666.