After this I saw: as in 4.1. This is a separate vision, and everything takes place on earth. Since this is the beginning of a new chapter, it will be equally natural in most languages to say “The next thing that I saw….”

Four angels standing at the four corners of the earth: the earth is regarded as a vast, square surface, with four distinct corners, from each of which one wind blows.

Holding back the four winds of the earth: the four winds blow from heaven (Jer 49.36; Dan 7.2; Zech 6.5); here they are called the four winds of the earth, blowing from north, south, east, and west. The angels keep them from blowing on earth or sea, which includes all the earth’s surface—the earth, of course, meaning “the dry land,” and the sea referring to large bodies of water everywhere. The addition of or against any tree seems to be a detail meant to make the figure more vivid, since trees are particularly affected by strong winds.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .