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OET (OET-LV) And the four living_creatures, one by one of_them, having each six wings, around and inside they_are_being_full of_eyes, and rest not they_are_having by_day and night saying:
holy, holy, holy, master the god the almighty, who was, and who being, and who coming.
OET (OET-RV) Each of the four living creatures had six wings with eyes all around and underneath them. Day and night they never stop saying:
⇔ ‘Holy, holy, holy,
⇔ is Yahweh, almighty God,
⇔ who was and is and is to come.’
In this section, John told more about the vision that he saw, using language similar to 1:10. In his vision he saw in the sky an opening into heaven. He could see God on his throne and different beings worshiping God.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The vision of the throne in heaven
A vision of God’s throne in heaven (GW)
And each of the four living creatures had six wings
Each of the four living beings had six wings,
And each of the four living creatures had six wings: The four living creatures each had wings like birds. But these creatures had six wings each. Each one probably had three wings on each side of its body.
and was covered with eyes all around and within.
full of eyes all around and underneath their wings.
and there were many eyes on and underneath their wings.
and was covered with eyes all around and within: The Greek clause is literally “they are full of eyes around and within.” There are two likely ways to interpret the word “within” here:
It indicates that the eyes were on the body under the closed wings.
It indicates that the eyes were on the underside of the opened wings.
Many of the English versions are ambiguous. These verses do not say whether the wings were raised or folded next to the body. If possible, translate this clause in a way that implies or indicates either interpretation (1) or (2). For example:
they were covered with eyes, inside and out (GNT)
their bodies were covered with eyes (CEV)
their bodies and the underside of their wings were covered with eyes
Day and night they never stop saying:
Day and night they keep on saying,
They continually repeat/chant in unison,
Day and night: The phrase Day and night indicates the creatures spoke the words of 4:8d–e all the time.
they never stop saying: The four creatures repeated the same words over and over again. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
they do not cease to say (NASB)
they keep on saying (NLT)
saying: The Greek word that the BSB translates as saying is the normal Greek word for speaking. However, the creatures are all speaking 4:8d–e in unison. For example:
saying together
chanting
4:8d–e are like two lines of a chant or two lines of poetry. You may want to print these lines separately to show that they are a chant or poem.
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
“The Lord God Almighty is holy, he is holy, indeed he is holy,
“The Lord God, the all mighty/powerful one, is completely/utterly holy/sacred.
Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty: The words Holy, Holy, Holy is emphasized in the Greek and in the BSB. If possible, emphasize this phrase naturally in your language.
The word Holy is repeated in order to emphasize its meaning. Consider how to emphasize the words as in a poem or chant in your language. For example:
Holy is the Lord God Almighty! Holy is he! Holy is he!
The Lord God Almighty is holy, holy, holy!
The Lord God Almighty is holy, indeed he is completely holy!
Holy: Here the word Holy indicates that God is perfect and unique. He only does what is right. He is different from all other beings since they are not perfect nor unique. Other ways to translate this word are:
sacred/divine
pure/perfect spiritually/morally
unique/separate
See how you translated this word in 3:7.
the Lord: The Greek word that the BSB translates as the Lord means “the one who has authority over (something),” or “owner.” God is master or owner of everything. See how you translated this word in 1:8.
Almighty: This word is a title which means “the one with the power to do anything.” For example:
the All-Powerful (NET)
See how you translated this word in 1:8.
who was and is and is to come!”
and he was and is and is coming.”
He is the one who has always existed, and who exists now, and who is to come.”
who was and is and is to come!: All these words refer to God and emphasize that God is eternal and will come and do what he wants to do. Other ways to translate it are:
He was, he is, and he is coming (NCV)
he who always existed, who exists, and who is coming
See how you translated these words in 1:4 or 1:8. Note that the order is different there: “who is and was and is to come.”
is to come!: This phrase indicates that God will come and do as he promised. It is not a substitute way to say “will be.” For example:
he is coming (NCV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
κυκλόθεν καὶ ἔσωθεν
around (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί τά τέσσαρα ζῷα ἕν καθʼ ἕν αὐτῶν ἔχων ἀνά πτέρυγας ἕξ κυκλόθεν καί ἔσωθεν γέμουσιν ὀφθαλμῶν καί ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καί νυκτός λέγοντες Ἅγιος Ἅγιος Ἅγιος Κύριος ὁ Θεός ὁ Παντοκράτωρ ὁ ἦν καί ὁ ὤν καί ὁ ἐρχόμενος)
John is using two sides of the body, the top and the bottom (what is around and underneath a being), to mean the whole body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [over their whole bodies]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives
οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς λέγοντες
not ˱they˲_˓are˒_having ˱by˲_day (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί τά τέσσαρα ζῷα ἕν καθʼ ἕν αὐτῶν ἔχων ἀνά πτέρυγας ἕξ κυκλόθεν καί ἔσωθεν γέμουσιν ὀφθαλμῶν καί ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καί νυκτός λέγοντες Ἅγιος Ἅγιος Ἅγιος Κύριος ὁ Θεός ὁ Παντοκράτωρ ὁ ἦν καί ὁ ὤν καί ὁ ἐρχόμενος)
If it would be clearer in your language, you could use a positive expression to translate this double negative that consists of the negative particle not and the verb rest, which in this context means to “stop.” Alternate translation: [saying continuously night and day]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς
˱by˲_day (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί τά τέσσαρα ζῷα ἕν καθʼ ἕν αὐτῶν ἔχων ἀνά πτέρυγας ἕξ κυκλόθεν καί ἔσωθεν γέμουσιν ὀφθαλμῶν καί ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καί νυκτός λέγοντες Ἅγιος Ἅγιος Ἅγιος Κύριος ὁ Θεός ὁ Παντοκράτωρ ὁ ἦν καί ὁ ὤν καί ὁ ἐρχόμενος)
The living creatures are using the two main components of time, night and day, to mean all the time. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [at any time]
OET (OET-LV) And the four living_creatures, one by one of_them, having each six wings, around and inside they_are_being_full of_eyes, and rest not they_are_having by_day and night saying:
holy, holy, holy, master the god the almighty, who was, and who being, and who coming.
OET (OET-RV) Each of the four living creatures had six wings with eyes all around and underneath them. Day and night they never stop saying:
⇔ ‘Holy, holy, holy,
⇔ is Yahweh, almighty God,
⇔ who was and is and is to come.’
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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