Revelation 4:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Revelation 4:5 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2. Revelation 4:5 tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”
3. Revelation 4:5 sn Some interpret the seven spirits of God as angelic beings, while others see them as a reference to the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit.
4. Revelation 4:6 tn This could refer to rock crystal, but it is possible this refers to ice (an older meaning). See BDAG 571 s.v. κρύσταλλος.
5. Revelation 4:6 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
6. Revelation 4:6 tn Perhaps, “in the middle of the throne area” (see L&N 83.10).
7. Revelation 4:6 tn On the meaning of ζῴον (zōon) 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.”
8. Revelation 4:7 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9. Revelation 4:7 tn Both here and before the phrase “the third,” καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.