Revelation 1:15

1:15 His feet were like polished bronze ¹  refined ²  in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar ³  of many waters.

Revelation 9:9

9:9 They had breastplates ⁴  like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots charging into battle.

[1:15]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of the term translated “polished bronze” (χαλκολιβάνῳ, calkolibanw), which appears nowhere else in Greek literature outside of the book of Revelation (see 2:18), is uncertain. Without question it is some sort of metal. BDAG 1076 s.v. χαλκολίβανον suggests “fine brass/bronze.” L&N 2.57 takes the word to refer to particularly valuable or fine bronze, but notes that the emphasis here and in Rev 2:18 is more on the lustrous quality of the metal.

[1:15]  ² tn Or “that has been heated in a furnace until it glows.”

[1:15]  ³ tn Grk “sound,” but the idea is closer to the roar of a waterfall or rapids.

[9:9]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “scales like iron breastplates” (RSV, NRSV) although the Greek term θώραξ (qwrax) would have to shift its meaning within the clause, and elsewhere in biblical usage (e.g., Eph 6:14; 1 Thess 5:8) it normally means “breastplate.” See also L&N 8.38.