'Four' in the Bible
Three things are beyond me;four I can’t understand:
The earth trembles under three things;it cannot bear up under four:
Four things on earth are small,yet they are extremely wise:
Three things are stately in their stride,even four are stately in their walk:
He will lift up a banner for the nationsand gather the dispersed of Israel;He will collect the scattered of Judahfrom the four corners of the earth.
“I will ordain four kinds of judgment for them”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land to devour and destroy.
As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the blazing fire until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the brazier.
I will bring the four winds against Elamfrom the four corners of the heavens,and I will scatter them to all these winds.There will not be a nationto which Elam’s banished ones will not go.
One pillar was 27 feet tall, had a circumference of 18 feet, was hollow—four fingers thick—
The form of four living creatures came from it. And this was their appearance: They had human form,
They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
The form of each of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.
When I looked at the living creatures, there was one wheel on the ground beside each creature that had four faces.
The appearance of the wheels and their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same form. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel.
When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved.
Their rims were large and frightening. Each of their four rims were full of eyes all around.
“Son of man, this is what the Lord God says to the land of Israel:An end! The end has comeon the four corners of the land.
I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. The luster of the wheels was like the gleam of beryl.
In appearance, all four had the same form, like a wheel within a wheel.
When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. But wherever the head faced, they would go in that direction, without pivoting as they went.
Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, wings, and the wheels that the four of them had, were full of eyes all around.
Each one had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
Each had four faces and each had four wings, with the form of human hands under their wings.
“For this is what the Lord God says: How much worse will it be when I send My four devastating judgments against Jerusalem—sword, famine, dangerous animals, and plague—in order to wipe out both man and animal from it!
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!”
So there were four tables inside the gate and four outside, eight tables in all on which the slaughtering was to be done.
There were also four tables of cut stone for the burnt offering, each 31½ inches long, 31½ inches wide, and 21 inches high. The utensils used to slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices were placed on them.
He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy from the common.
The altar hearth is seven feet high, and four horns project upward from the hearth.
The ledge is 24½ feet long by 24½ feet wide, with four equal sides. The rim all around it is 10½ inches, and its gutter is 21 inches all around it. The altar’s steps face east.”
“You must take some of its blood and apply it to the four horns of the altar, the four corners of the ledge, and all around the rim. In this way you will purify the altar and make atonement for it.
The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering and apply it to the temple doorposts, the four corners of the altar’s ledge, and the doorposts of the gate to the inner court.
Next he brought me into the outer court and led me past its four corners. There was a separate court in each of its corners.
In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courts, 70 feet long by 52½ feet wide. All four corner areas had the same dimensions.
There was a stone wall around the inside of them, around the four of them, with ovens built at the base of the walls on all sides.
God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.
He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Daniel said, “In my vision at night I was watching, and suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea.
Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.
“While I was watching, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads and was given authority to rule.
‘These huge beasts, four in number, are four kings who will rise from the earth.
Then the male goat became very great, but when he became powerful, the large horn was shattered. Four conspicuous horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.
The four horns that took the place of the shattered horn represent four kingdoms. They will rise from that nation, but without its power.
But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Damascusfor three crimes, even four,because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Gazafor three crimes, even four,because they exiled a whole community,handing them over to Edom.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Tyrefor three crimes, even four,because they handed overa whole community of exiles to Edomand broke a treaty of brotherhood.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Edomfor three crimes, even four,because he pursued his brother with the sword.He stifled his compassion,his anger tore at them continually,and he harbored his rage incessantly.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing the Ammonitesfor three crimes, even four,because they ripped openthe pregnant women of Gileadin order to enlarge their territory.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Moabfor three crimes, even four,because he burned the bonesof the king of Edom to lime.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Judahfor three crimes, even four,because they have rejected the instruction of the Lordand have not kept His statutes.The lies that their ancestors followedhave led them astray.
The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Israelfor three crimes, even four,because they sell a righteous person for silverand a needy person for a pair of sandals.
“Get up! Leave the land of the north”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven”—this is the Lord’s declaration.
Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. And the mountains were made of bronze.
The angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven going out after presenting themselves to the Lord of the whole earth.
He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic, carried by four men.
He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord! And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much!”
“Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ready for harvest.
After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid.
When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
“Remove the stone,” Jesus said.Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Him, “Lord, he’s already decaying. It’s been four days.”
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.
He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth.
Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. Just then a man in a dazzling robe stood before me
“I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a visionary state, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me.
After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have obligated themselves with a vow.
Then, fearing we might run aground in some rocky place, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come.
Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle and around the throne.
Each of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying:Holy, holy, holy,Lord God, the Almighty,who was, who is, and who is coming.
Then I saw One like a slaughtered lamb standing between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.
When He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”
Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius—but do not harm the olive oil and the wine.”
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree.
Then I saw another angel, who had the seal of the living God rise up from the east. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were empowered to harm the earth and the sea:
All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures, and they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
The sixth angel blew his trumpet. From the four horns of the gold altar that is before God, I heard a voice
say to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates.”
So the four angels who were prepared for the hour, day, month, and year were released to kill a third of the human race.
They sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, but no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.
Then the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who is seated on the throne, saying:Amen! Hallelujah!
and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea.