complete verse (Revelation 13:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 13:1:

  • Uma: “After that, I saw an animal appear from the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On each of its horns there was the hat of a king, and on each of its heads were written words reviling God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then, I saw something like a creature come out of the sea. It had seven heads and ten horns. His horns had crowns and on his foreheads were written bad names as far as God is concerned.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The dragon stood on the shore of the sea.Then I saw a very fearful beast coming up out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads. There was a crown placed on each of his horns, and on each of his head there was a written a name by which he transgressed God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then I saw a terrible/fearsome animal coming-out of the ocean. He had seven heads and ten horns. All his horns were crowned, and each of his heads was written-on with a name of God which he had no authority to use.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “What that dragon did was, he went to the shore of the ocean. To follow next, I saw coming ashore from the ocean a monster which was alien/strange to the world. He also had seven heads branching out and ten horns, each of those horns having a crown on it. And his names were written on each of his heads, each one of these really insulting/belittling God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I stood at the edge of the sea. I saw there in the sea that there was emerging a terrible animal which had seven heads and ten horns. On each of the horns there was a crown. On its heads were written names which displeased God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 13:1

A beast: see 11.7, which speaks of the beast that came out of the abyss (see also 17.8); the beast here comes out of the sea. It is possible that the two are the same beast, since “the abyss” was often used to refer to the depths of the ocean. In any case the translated text will not establish any clear relationship between the two. Beast, in certain languages where there are only the two categories, domesticated or wild, will need defining phrases such as “a terrible wild animal,” “a huge, horrible animal,” or even “a frightening, savage animal.”

Rising out of the sea: as in 10.2, it is futile to try to identify this as a specific body of water (see Dan 7.3).

Ten horns … seven heads … ten diadems upon its horns: like the dragon (12.3) this marine beast has seven heads and ten horns; but unlike the dragon this beast has a diadem on each of its ten horns. These diadems indicate his royal status. For diadems see 12.3.

A blasphemous name upon its heads: Revised Standard Version translates a Greek text that has the singular name; Good News Translation translates a text that has the plural “names.” The text translated by Good News Bible is preferable, and the translation can be, like Good News Bible, “a name on each of its heads” or “names on its heads.” Here blasphemous means “insulting to God” (see “slander” in 2.9). The common interpretation is that these are names, or titles, that should be used only of God, such as “Lord,” “God,” “Almighty,” “Divine,” “Worthy of Worship.” These seven heads represent seven rulers (see 17.9-10) who claim divine rank. If this interpretation is correct, then the meaning of blasphemous or “insulting” in this context means “to bring dishonor to God,” “to mock God,” or “be an affront to God.” So an alternative translation model for this final clause is “and on each of its heads there was a name that was an affront to (or, mocked) God.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .