Revelation 13:1

Revelation 13:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
• New International Version (NIV)The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.

Context of Revelation 13:1

And the dragon (Satan) stood on the sandy shore of the sea. Then I saw a [vicious] beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten royal crowns (diadems), and on his heads were blasphemous names. 2And the beast that I saw resembled a leopard, but his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like that of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. 3I saw one of his heads which seemed to have a fatal wound, but his fatal wound was healed; and the entire earth followed after the beast in amazement.

Revelation 13:1 word by word

Καὶ εἶδον ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης θηρίον ἀναβαῖνον, ἔχον κέρατα δέκα καὶ κεφαλὰς καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κεράτων αὐτοῦ δέκα διαδήματα καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτοῦ ὀνόματα βλασφημίας.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• I stoodἵστημιhistēmi · to standG2476
• uponἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• the sandὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the sandἄμμοςammos · sandG285
• of the seaθάλασσαthalassa · seaG2281
• sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
• a beastθηρίονthērion · wild animalG2342
• rise upἀναβαίνωanabainō · to ascendG305
• out ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• havingἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• sevenἑπτάhepta · sevenG2033
• headsκεφαλήkephalē · headG2776
• tenδέκαdeka · tenG1176
• hornsκέραςkeras · hornG2768
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• crownsδιάδημαdiadēma · diademG1238
• the nameὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
• of blasphemyβλασφημίαblasphēmia · blasphemyG988

Cross-references for Revelation 13:1

• Jeremiah 5:22Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord. ‘Do you not tremble [in awe] in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass. Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail [against the sand ordained to hold them back]; Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier]. [Is not such a God to be feared?]
• Revelation 11:7When they have finished their testimony and given their evidence, the beast that comes up out of the abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
• Revelation 17:8“The beast that you saw was [once], but [now] is not, and he is about to come up out of the abyss (the bottomless pit, the dwelling place of demons) and go to destruction (perdition). And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished when they see the beast, because he was and is not and is yet to come [to earth].
• Daniel 7:2Daniel said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea (the nations).
• Revelation 12:3Then another sign [of warning] was seen in heaven: behold, a great fiery red dragon (Satan) with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven royal crowns (diadems).
• Revelation 17:3And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was entirely covered with blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
• Daniel 7:7After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, [I saw] a fourth beast (the Roman Empire), terrible and extremely strong; and it had huge iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns (ten kings).
• Revelation 13:5And the beast was given a mouth (the power of speech), uttering great things and arrogant and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom and authority to act and to do as he pleased for forty-two months (three and a half years).
• Daniel 7:25He will speak words against the Most High [God] and wear down the saints of the Most High, and he will intend to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, [two] times, and half a time [three and one-half years].
• Daniel 11:36“Then the king (the Antichrist) will do exactly as he pleases; he will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god and will speak astounding and disgusting things against the God of gods and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is determined [by God] will be done.
• 2 Thessalonians 2:3Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed],

Commentaries on Revelation 13:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea - Before we can proceed in the interpretation of this chapter, it will be highly necessary to ascertain the meaning of the prophetic symbol beast, as the want of a proper understanding of this term has probably been one reason why so many discordant hypotheses have been published to the world. In this investigation it is impossible to resort to a higher authority than Scripture…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And I stood upon the sand of the sea - The sand upon the shore of the sea. That is, he seemed to stand there, and then had a vision of a beast rising out of the waters. The reason of this representation may, perhaps, have been that among the ancients the sea was regarded as the appropriate place for the origin of huge and terrible monsters (Prof. Stuart, in loco). This vision strongly resembles that in Daniel 7:2 ff, where the prophet saw four beasts…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Chapter Outline A wild beast rises out of the sea, to whom the dragon gives his power. (1-10) Another beast, which has two horns like a lamb, but speaks as a dragon. (11-15) It obliges all to worship its image, and receive its mark, as persons devoted to it. (16-18) Verses 1-10 The apostle, standing on the shore, saw a savage beast rise out of the sea; a tyrannical, idolatrous, persecuting power, springing up out of the troubles which took place. It was a…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The beast comes out of the sea, symbolizing evil. Like the dragon, it has seven heads and ten horns (see Revelation 12:3). The crowns show its political and military power (compare Revelation 17:3, 7–11; Daniel 7:7, 19–20) and indicate that Satan leads this beast's empire.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-181. I stood--So B, Aleph, and Coptic read. But A, C, Vulgate, and Syriac, "He stood." Standing on the sand of the sea, HE gave his power to the beast that rose out of the sea. upon the sand of the sea--where the four winds were to be seen striving upon the great sea (Da 7:2). beast--Greek, "wild beast." Man becomes "brutish" when he severs himself from God, the archetype and true ideal, in whose image he was first made, which ideal is realized by the man…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 13:1

• Blasphemy
• Crown
• Horn
• Sea
• Seven
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Antichrist
• Blasphemy
• Crown
• Diadem
• Sea, The
• Dragon
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Horn
• Literature, Sub-Apostolic

Commentaries on Revelation 13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings