³ I 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. ⁴ They fell down and worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; they also worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like (as great as) the beast, and who is able to wage war against him?”

⁷ He was also ^[a]permitted to wage war against the saints (God’s people) and to overcome them, and authority and power over every tribe and people and language and nation.^{(A) 8} All the inhabitants of the earth will fall down and worship him, everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who has been slain [as a willing sacrifice].

The Beast from the Earth

¹¹ Then I saw ^[a]another beast rising up out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon.^{(A) 12} He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence [when the two are together]. And he makes the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

The Doom of Babylon

17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment and doom of the great ^[a]prostitute who is seated ^[b]on many waters [influencing nations],^{(A) 2} she with whom the kings of the earth have ^[c]committed acts of immorality, and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”^(B)

¹⁵ Then the angel said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.

² Many will follow their shameful ways, and because of them the way of truth will be maligned.