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 9:14

9:14 saying to the sixth angel, the one holding ⁵  the trumpet, “Set free ⁶  the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!”

Ezekiel 7:2

7:2 “You, son of man – this is what the sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: An end! The end is coming on the four corners of the land! ⁷ 

Ezekiel 37:9

37:9 He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, ⁸  – prophesy, son of man – and say to the breath: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.’”

Zechariah 1:18-20

Vision Two: The Four Horns

1:18 (2:1) ⁹  Once again I looked and this time I saw four horns. 1:19 So I asked the angelic messenger ¹⁰  who spoke with me, “What are these?” He replied, “These are the horns ¹¹  that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ¹²  1:20 Next the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. ¹³ 

Zechariah 6:1

Vision Eight: The Chariots

6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. ¹⁴ 

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 ¹⁵  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. ¹⁶ 

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 “having.”

⁶ tn On λῦσον (luson) BDAG 606-7 s.v. λύω 2 states, “set free, loose, untie – a. lit. a pers., animal, or thing that is bound or tied…Angels that are bound Rv 9:14f.”

⁷ tn Or “earth.” Elsewhere the expression “four corners of the earth” figuratively refers to the whole earth (Isa 11:12).

⁸ tn Or “spirit,” and several times in this verse.

⁹ sn This marks the beginning of ch. 2 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 1:18, the verse numbers through 2:13 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:18 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:19 ET = 2:2 HT, 1:20 ET = 2:3 HT, 1:21 ET = 2:4 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:5 HT, etc., through 2:13 ET = 2:17 HT. From 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

¹⁰ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in v. 9.

¹¹ sn An animal’s horn is a common OT metaphor for military power (Pss 18:2; 75:10; Jer 48:25; Mic 4:13). The fact that there are four horns here (as well as four blacksmiths, v. 20) shows a correspondence to the four horses of v. 8 which go to four parts of the world, i.e., the whole world.

¹² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹³ tn Heb “craftsmen” (so NASB, NIV; KJV “carpenters”), a generic term which can mean “metalworker, smith, armorer” (HALOT 358 s.v. חָרָשׁ). “Blacksmiths” was chosen for the present translation because of its relative familiarity among contemporary English readers.

¹⁴ tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁵ tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.

¹⁶ tn Or “of the sky”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context.