Revelation 4:6

4:6 and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. ¹ 

In ²  the middle of the throne ³  and around the throne were four living creatures ⁴  full of eyes in front and in back.

Revelation 5:8

5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground ⁵  before the Lamb. Each ⁶  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ⁷ 

Revelation 15:7

15:7 Then ⁸  one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath ⁹  of God who lives forever and ever,

Revelation 17:3-4

17:3 So ¹⁰  he carried me away in the Spirit ¹¹  to a wilderness, ¹²  and there ¹³  I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 17:4 Now ¹⁴  the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, ¹⁵  and adorned with gold, ¹⁶  precious stones, and pearls. She held ¹⁷  in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. ¹⁸ 

Revelation 4:8

4:8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings ¹⁹  and was full of eyes all around and inside. ²⁰  They never rest day or night, saying: ²¹ 

“Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, ²² 

Who was and who is, and who is still to come!”

Revelation 21:9

The New Jerusalem Descends

21:9 Then ²³  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, ²⁴  saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!”

¹ tn This could refer to rock crystal, but it is possible this refers to ice (an older meaning). See BDAG 571 s.v. κρύσταλλος.

² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³ tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).

⁴ tn On the meaning of ζῴον (zwon) BDAG 431 s.v. 2 states, “Of the four peculiar beings at God’s throne, whose description Rv 4:6-9 reminds one of the ζῷα in Ezk 1:5ff, the cherubim. S. also Rv 5:6, 8, 11, 14; 6:1, 3, 5-7; 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4.”

⁵ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

⁶ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁷ sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹⁰ tn Or “anger.”

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s invitation to witness the fate of the prostitute.

¹⁴ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

¹⁵ tn Or “desert.”

¹⁶ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for stylistic reasons.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the detailed description of the woman, which is somewhat parenthetical in nature.

¹⁸ tn The word “clothing” is supplied to clarify that the words “purple” and “scarlet” refer to cloth or garments rather than colors.

¹⁹ tn Grk “gilded with gold” (an instance of semantic reinforcement, see L&N 49.29).

²⁰ tn Grk “pearls, having in her hand.” Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²¹ tc Several mss (including 1611 1854 2053 Ï^K pc) read “sexual immorality on/of the earth” (πορνείας τῆς γῆς, porneia" th" gh") instead of “her sexual immorality.” Other mss (א sy^h** [co]) read “her sexual immorality and the earth’s” (πορνείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς γῆς, porneia" aujth" kai th" gh"). The translation is a rendering of πορνείας αὐτῆς, found in {A 1006 2344 al}. It seems that the first reading “sexuality immorality on/of the earth” was a scribal mistake in which letters may have been confused (auths would have been read as thsghs), or was perhaps influenced by the presence of “of the world” (τῆς γῆς) at the end of v. 5. The original wording seems to be “her sexual immorality”; codex א has conflated the two readings.

²¹ tn Grk “six wings apiece,” but this is redundant with “each one” in English.

²² tn Some translations render ἔσωθεν (eswqen) as “under [its] wings,” but the description could also mean “filled all around on the outside and on the inside with eyes.” Since the referent is not available to the interpreter, the exact force is difficult to determine.

²³ tn Or “They never stop saying day and night.”

²⁴ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

²⁶ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.” See also v. 15.