6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. 1 6:2 Harnessed to the first chariot were red horses, to the second black horses, 6:3 to the third white horses, and to the fourth spotted horses, all of them strong. 2 6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger 3 who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?” 6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits 4 of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.
1 tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tc For the MT reading אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) Aquila and Syriac presuppose אֲדֻמִּים (’adummim, “red”), thus giving the red horse an assignment and eliminating the problem of a fifth, “spotted” horse. The fourth would be a mottled red horse according to this view. There is, however, no manuscript support for this interpretation.
3 tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.
4 tn The Hebrew term translated “spirit” here may also be translated “wind” or “breath” depending on the context (cf. ASV, NRSV, CEV “the four winds of heaven”; NAB similar).