Psalms 147:15

147:15 He ¹  sends his command through the earth; ² 

swiftly his order reaches its destination. ³ 

Daniel 9:21

9:21 yes, while I was still praying, ⁴  the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously ⁵  in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, ⁶  around the time of the evening offering.

Zechariah 2:3-4

2:3 At this point the angelic messenger ⁷  who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him 2:4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man ⁸  as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls ⁹  because of the multitude of people and animals there.

Zechariah 4:10

4:10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes ¹⁰  will joyfully look on the tin tablet ¹¹  in Zerubbabel’s hand. (These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.)

Matthew 24:27

24:27 For just like the lightning ¹²  comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.

Matthew 24:31

24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven ¹³  to the other.

Mark 13:27

13:27 Then he will send angels and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “the one who.”

² tn Heb “the one who sends his word, the earth.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) is an adverbial accusative; one must supply a preposition before it (such as “through” or “to”) in the English translation.

³ tn Heb “swiftly his word runs.”

⁴ tn Heb “speaking in prayer.”

⁵ tn Heb “in the beginning.”

⁶ tn The Hebrew expression בִּיעָף מֻעָף (mu’af bi’af) is very difficult. The issue is whether the verb derives from עוּף (’uf, “to fly”) or from יָעַף (ya’af, “to be weary”). Many ancient versions and modern commentators take the first of these possibilities and understand the reference to be to the swift flight of the angel Gabriel in his coming to Daniel. The words more likely refer to the extreme weariness, not of the angel, but of Daniel. Cf. 7:28; 8:27; 10:8-9, 16-17; also NASB.

⁷ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

⁸ sn That is, to Zechariah.

⁹ tn Heb “Jerusalem will dwell as open regions (פְּרָזוֹת, pÿrazot)”; cf. NAB “in open country”; CEV “won’t have any boundaries.” The population will be so large as to spill beyond the ancient and normal enclosures. The people need not fear, however, for the Lord will be an invisible but strong wall (v. 5).

¹⁰ tn Heb “these seven.” Eyes are clearly intended in the ellipsis as v. 10b shows. As in 3:9 the idea is God’s omniscience. He who knows the end from the beginning rejoices at the completion of his purposes.

¹¹ tn This term is traditionally translated “plumb line” (so NASB, NIV, NLT; cf. KJV, NRSV “plummet”), but it is more likely that the Hebrew בְּדִיל (bÿdil) is to be derived not from בָּדַל (badal), “to divide,” but from a root meaning “tin.” This finds support in the ancient Near Eastern custom of placing inscriptions on tin plates in dedicatory foundation deposits.

¹² sn The Son of Man’s coming in power will be sudden and obvious like lightning. No one will need to point it out.

¹³ tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

¹⁴ tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.