Paragraph 9:17–19

9:17a

Now the horses and riders: The word riders refers to the soldiers sitting on the horses. These riders may or may not have looked like people. Another way to translate this phrase is:

the horses and those who sat on them

in my vision: The Greek phrase is literally “the vision” (as in the New American Standard Bible). The phrase refers to all that John has seen and written in this book. You may add the pronoun my if it is natural in your language.

vision: Here the word vision refers to something that appears supernaturally. It is like a dream, but the person is usually awake. It is something or someone that people usually cannot see, but God causes them to see it.

looked like this: This phrase indicates that the description of the horses and riders follows in 9:17b–d.

9:17b–d

The breastplates have three colors. The colors are probably meant to match the three things that come out of their mouths. The fiery red color matches the color of fire. The dark blue color matches the color of the smoke. The sulfur yellow matches the color of sulfur.

9:17b

The riders had breastplates: The Greek phrase the Berean Standard Bible translates as The riders had breastplates is literally “having breastplates.” The Greek does not indicate if it was the riders or the “horses” mentioned in 9:17a who wore breastplates. The phrase could refer to either:

(a) the riders,

(b) both the riders and the horses.

You should translate this phrase without saying who wore the breastplates. For example

The breastplates were
-or-
Their breastplates were (New International Version)

breastplates: The breastplates are formed by a thin sheet of metal or overlapping plates of metal shaped to fit over the chest to protect the wearers. See how you translated this word in 9:9.

the colors of fire: This refers to a bright red. It is similar in color to bright red coals of a fire.

sapphire: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sapphire refers to a deep blue or purplish-blue color.

and sulfur: The word sulfur describes the color of pure sulfur, a medium yellow. For example:

sulfur–yellow (New Jerusalem Bible)

In some languages people are not familiar with sulfur. If that is true in your language, you may want to use the usual word for yellow in your language. For example:

yellow
-or-
egg yolk yellow

9:17c

like the heads of lions: The male lion has a mane of hair around his neck. Lions eat other animals and have large sharp teeth.

In some languages people are not familiar with lions. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Use the major language word. If people are not familiar with this word, explain it in a footnote. For example:

A lion is a large feline/cat. It weighs about 200 kilograms. The male lion has a mane of hair over his neck. Lions eat other animals and have large sharp teeth.
-or-
See footnote on lion at 4:7.

• Use the major language word and add a descriptive word or phrase. For example:

the heads of ⌊fierce⌋ lions

9:17d

out of their mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and sulfur: The phrase out of their mouths is emphasized in the Greek and the Berean Standard Bible. If possible, emphasize this phrase naturally in your language.

In some languages it is more natural to have this clause in its usual place. For example:

fire, smoke, and sulfur came out of their mouths

out of their mouths: In 9:17c John described the heads of the horses. So the pronoun their probably refers to only the horses here.

smoke: The smoke was probably a dark blue color, matching the color on the breastplates. You may want to use a similar word or phrase for the color of the smoke here. For example:

⌊dark blue⌋ smoke

sulfur: The word sulfur refers to a yellow powder or soft solid. It is often found at hot springs and near volcanoes. When sulfur burns, it makes a poisonous, bad smelling gas.

In some languages people are not familiar with sulfur. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Use the major language word and add a descriptive word or phrase. For example:

⌊poisonous⌋ sulfur

• Describe sulfur. For example:

⌊poisonous⌋ yellow powder

You may then want to describe the literal word. For example:

Literally: “sulfur.” Sulfur is a powder that makes a poisonous, bad smelling gas when it burns.

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