2 Kings 2:11

2:11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot ¹  pulled by fiery horses appeared. ²  They went between Elijah and Elisha, ³  and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm.

Psalms 34:7

34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around

the Lord’s ⁴  loyal followers ⁵  and delivers them. ⁶ 

Psalms 68:17

68:17 God has countless chariots;

they number in the thousands. ⁷ 

The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor. ⁸ 

Psalms 91:11

91:11 For he will order his angels ⁹ 

to protect you in all you do. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 104:3

104:3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds. ¹¹ 

He makes the clouds his chariot,

and travels along on the wings of the wind. ¹² 

Ezekiel 1:13-16

1:13 In the middle ¹³  of the living beings was something like ¹⁴  burning coals of fire ¹⁵  or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire. 1:14 The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning. ¹⁶ 

1:15 Then I looked, ¹⁷  and I saw one wheel ¹⁸  on the ground ¹⁹  beside each of the four beings. 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction ²⁰  was like gleaming jasper, ²¹  and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. ²² 

Zechariah 1:8

The Content of the First Vision

1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated ²³  on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees ²⁴  in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, ²⁵  and white horses.

Zechariah 6:1-7

Vision Eight: The Chariots

6:1 Once more I looked, and this time I saw four chariots emerging from between two mountains of bronze. ²⁶  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. ²⁷  6:4 Then I asked the angelic messenger ²⁸  who was speaking with me, “What are these, sir?” 6:5 The messenger replied, “These are the four spirits ²⁹  of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6:6 The chariot with the black horses is going to the north country and the white ones are going after them, but the spotted ones are going to the south country. 6:7 All these strong ones ³⁰  are scattering; they have sought permission to go and walk about over the earth.” The Lord had said, “Go! Walk about over the earth!” So they are doing so.

Matthew 26:53

26:53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions ³¹  of angels right now?

Hebrews 1:14

1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those ³²  who will inherit salvation?

Revelation 19:11

The Son of God Goes to War

19:11 Then ³³  I saw heaven opened and here came ³⁴  a white horse! The ³⁵  one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice ³⁶  he judges and goes to war.

Revelation 19:14

19:14 The ³⁷  armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, ³⁸  were following him on white horses.

[2:11]  ¹ tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”

[2:11]  ² tn Heb “look, a chariot of fire and horses of fire.”

[2:11]  ³ tn Heb “and they made a division between the two of them.”

[34:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[34:7]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive here carries the same generalizing force as the active participle in the first line. See GKC 329 §111.u.

[68:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “thousands of [?].” The meaning of the word שִׁנְאָן (shin’an), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Perhaps the form should be emended to שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan, “at ease”) and be translated here “held in reserve.”

[68:17]  ⁸ tc The MT reads, “the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness,” which is syntactically difficult. The present translation assumes an emendation to אֲדֹנָי בָּא מִסִּינַי (’adonay ba’ missinay; see BHS note b-b and Deut 33:2).

[91:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”

[91:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in all your ways.”

[104:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “one who lays the beams on water [in] his upper rooms.” The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 44-45.

[104:3]  ¹² sn Verse 3 may depict the Lord riding a cherub, which is in turn propelled by the wind current. Another option is that the wind is personified as a cherub. See Ps 18:10 and the discussion of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the imagery in M. Weinfeld, “‘Rider of the Clouds’ and ‘Gatherer of the Clouds’,” JANESCU 5 (1973): 422-24.

[1:13]  ¹³ tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures” (וּדְמוּת הַחַיּוֹת, udÿmut hakhayyot). The LXX reads “and in the midst of the creatures,” suggesting an underlying Hebrew text of וּמִתּוֹךְ הַחַיּוֹת (umittokh hakhayyot). The subsequent description of something moving among the creatures supports the LXX.

[1:13]  ¹⁴ tc The MT reads “and the form of the creatures – their appearance was like burning coals of fire.” The LXX reads “in the midst of the creatures was a sight like burning coals of fire.” The MT may have adjusted “appearance” to “their appearance” to fit their reading of the beginning of the verse (see the tc note on “in the middle”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:13]  ¹⁵ sn Burning coals of fire are also a part of David’s poetic description of God’s appearance (see 2 Sam 22:9, 13; Ps 18:8).

[1:14]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX omits v. 14 and may well be correct. The verse may be a later explanatory gloss of the end of v. 13 which was copied into the main text. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 1:46.

[1:15]  ¹⁷ tc The MT adds “at the living beings” which is absent from the LXX.

[1:15]  ¹⁸ sn Another vision which includes wheels on thrones occurs in Dan 7:9. Ezek 10 contains a vision similar to this one.

[1:15]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew word may be translated either “earth” or “ground” in this context.

[1:16]  ²⁰ tc This word is omitted from the LXX.

[1:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning of this term is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB); “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV); or “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).

[1:16]  ²² tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). The description given in v. 17 favors the latter idea.

[1:8]  ²³ tn Heb “riding,” but since this verb in English is usually associated with horses in motion rather than standing still, the translation uses “seated.” Cf. NAB “the driver of a red horse.”

[1:8]  ²⁴ tc The LXX presupposes הֶהָרִים (heharim, “mountains”) rather than the MT הַהֲדַסִּים (hahadassim, “myrtles”), probably because of reference to the ravine. The MT reading is preferred and is followed by most English versions.

[1:8]  ²⁵ sn The Hebrew שְׂרֻקִּים (sÿruqqim) means “red” (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT “brown”). English translations such as “speckled” (KJV) or “dappled” (TEV) are based on the reading of the LXX (ψαροί) that attempts to bring the color of this horse into conformity with those described in Zech 6:2-3. However, since these are two different and unrelated visions, this is a methodological fallacy.

[6:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “two mountains, and the mountains [were] mountains of bronze.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:3]  ²⁷ 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.

[6:4]  ²⁸ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[6:5]  ²⁹ 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).

[6:7]  ³⁰ tn The present translation takes אֲמֻצִּים (’amutsim, “strong”) to be a descriptive of all the horses – white, black, red, and spotted (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

[26:53]  ³¹ sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.

[1:14]  ³² tn Grk “sent for service for the sake of those.”

[19:11]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:11]  ³⁴ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[19:11]  ³⁵ tn A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:11]  ³⁶ tn Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.

[19:14]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:14]  ³⁸ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”