And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Parallel translations
- WEB and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name.
- BSB so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
- NKJV and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
- NASB and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
- NLT And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Without the beast's mark, name, or number, no one can buy or sell. Economic pressure is used to compel idolatrous loyalty.
Overview
The beast ties ordinary economic life to bearing its mark, so that fidelity to God may cost livelihood itself. This dramatizes how anti-God systems exert pressure not only through violence but through commerce and exclusion. Believers are called to trust God's provision rather than secure life by compromising their allegiance to the Lamb.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rev 13:16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
- Rev 14:11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
- Rev 15:2And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
- Rev 13:18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
- Rev 14:9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
- Rev 22:4And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
- Rev 3:12Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
- Rev 17:5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
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Christ at the center
Revelation ends the story with the slain-yet-standing Lamb who is worthy, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and Omega, the returning King who makes all things new and dwells with his people forever.
How Revelation 13:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.