13. The second beast performs spectacular signs. It even makes fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people.
14. It deceives those living on earth with the signs that it is allowed to do in front of the ⌊first⌋ beast. It tells those living on earth to make a statue for the beast who was wounded by a sword and yet lived.
15. The second beast was allowed to put breath into the statue of the ⌊first⌋ beast. Then the statue of the ⌊first⌋ beast could talk and put to death whoever would not worship it.
16. The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant people, rich and poor people, free people and slaves—to be branded on their right hands or on their foreheads.
17. It does this so that no one may buy or sell unless he has the brand, which is the beast’s name or the number of its name.
18. In this situation wisdom is needed. Let the person who has insight figure out the number of the beast, because it is a human number. The beast’s number is 666.