Bede, on Rev 13:9

“If any man have an ear, let him hear.”

“If anyone has an ear, let him hear. Whenever Scripture interposes this saying, it seeks an attentive listener due to the obscurity of the matter. So that the momentary kingdom of the devil is not regarded highly, it meets human thoughts by saying: He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity, that is, the devil and the beast, who now seem to capture the nations with their snares, will themselves soon be captives.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.