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OET (OET-LV) After this I_saw four messengers having_stood on the four corners of_the earth, taking_hold_of the four winds of_the earth, in_order_that neither may_be_blowing the_wind on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
OET (OET-RV) After that I saw four messengers standing around the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
In this section, John saw angels put God’s seal on 144,000 people from Israel. This seal indicates that these people belong to God.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The 144,000 of Israel Sealed (NRSV)
The 144,000 Are Marked for God (CEV)
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,
¶ Next I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, (NJB)
¶ After that I saw four angels. One was standing in/at the north, one in/at the east, one in/at the south, and one in/at the west of the earth.
After this: The word this refers to the event in 6:16–17. In some languages it is more natural to use the word “that.”
angels: The Greek word that the BSB translates as angels refers here to spirit beings who serve God. See how you translated this word in 1:1 or 5:2.
the four corners of the earth: This idiom refers to four places that are as far away from each other as possible. 7:1b implies that these four places are the sources for the winds. In many languages, winds come from the north, south, east, and west. Here, the idiom implies that the angels control the wind over the whole world. Some languages do not have an idiom that refers to four places that are as far away from each other as possible. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Use the four words north, south, east, and west. For example:
in/at the north, the east, the south, and the west of the earth
Translate the meaning without the idiom. For example:
in/at the four places on the earth far distant from each other
holding back its four winds
stopping the four winds of the earth
They prevented any wind
so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
so that wind would not blow on the land or on the sea or on any tree.
from blowing anywhere on the earth, including on the land, the seas, or on any tree.
holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow: The phrase its four winds refers to winds from the north, south, east, and west. Together they represent wind from any direction. Other ways to translate this clause are:
stopping the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow
preventing all wind from blowing on the earth
blow: The Greek word that the BSB translates as blow probably refers to strong winds that damage things. The angels prevented the winds from causing this damage. But the Greek word may also refer to any kind of wind, strong or gentle.
sea: The word sea refers to large bodies of water. A sea is often so large that someone standing on one side cannot see the other side. Here it refers to oceans in general. Some languages do not have a word or phrase for “sea.” If that is true in your language, you may want to:
Explain the meaning in your translation. For example:
the saltwater place
large body of water
large round water
Use the major language word.
See how you translated this word in 5:13. The word sea is symbolic, so you should not name a particular sea.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἑστῶτας ἐπὶ τὰς τέσσαρας γωνίας τῆς γῆς, κρατοῦντας τοὺς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τῆς γῆς
˓having˒_stood (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Μετά τοῦτο εἶδον τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους ἑστῶτας ἐπί τάς τέσσαρας γωνίας τῆς γῆς κρατοῦντας τούς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τῆς γῆς ἵνα μή πνέῃ ἄνεμος ἐπί τῆς γῆς μήτε ἐπί τῆς θαλάσσης μήτε ἐπί παν δένδρον)
John is speaking as if the earth had four corners. He is referring from his own standpoint to locations to the north, south, east, and west of him. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could state the meaning plainly, using your own language's words for these primary directions. Alternate translation: [at places on the earth where they could hold back the north, south, east, and west winds]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, μήτε ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, μήτε ἐπὶ πᾶν δένδρον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Μετά τοῦτο εἶδον τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους ἑστῶτας ἐπί τάς τέσσαρας γωνίας τῆς γῆς κρατοῦντας τούς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τῆς γῆς ἵνα μή πνέῃ ἄνεμος ἐπί τῆς γῆς μήτε ἐπί τῆς θαλάσσης μήτε ἐπί παν δένδρον)
After John says that the wind would not blow on the land or on the sea, he may add or on any tree for emphasis, perhaps alluding to his reference in [6:13](../06/13.md) to a great wind shaking a tree. In that case the two phrases would mean similar things, as the next two notes explain. John would be using the repetition for emphasis. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine the two phrases. Alternate translation: [on any place on the land or in the sea]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, μήτε ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Μετά τοῦτο εἶδον τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους ἑστῶτας ἐπί τάς τέσσαρας γωνίας τῆς γῆς κρατοῦντας τούς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τῆς γῆς ἵνα μή πνέῃ ἄνεμος ἐπί τῆς γῆς μήτε ἐπί τῆς θαλάσσης μήτε ἐπί παν δένδρον)
John seems to be using the two main components of the world, the land and the sea, to mean everywhere in the world. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [anywhere in the world]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
μήτε ἐπὶ πᾶν δένδρον
nor nor (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Μετά τοῦτο εἶδον τέσσαρας ἀγγέλους ἑστῶτας ἐπί τάς τέσσαρας γωνίας τῆς γῆς κρατοῦντας τούς τέσσαρας ἀνέμους τῆς γῆς ἵνα μή πνέῃ ἄνεμος ἐπί τῆς γῆς μήτε ἐπί τῆς θαλάσσης μήτε ἐπί παν δένδρον)
John may be using one place where the wind might blow, against a tree, to mean every place where the wind might blow. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation, preceded by a comma: [no, not anywhere at all]
OET (OET-LV) After this I_saw four messengers having_stood on the four corners of_the earth, taking_hold_of the four winds of_the earth, in_order_that neither may_be_blowing the_wind on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
OET (OET-RV) After that I saw four messengers standing around the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.
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.