LIVING CREATURES — the plain, unremarkable plural of zōon, a living thing, animal. ⚠ KJV alone on the English shelf renders it 'beasts' at Revelation 4:6-9 and 5:6-14, a translation that has shaped centuries of English readers toward picturing something monstrous; every other version checked here, in both languages, reads some form of 'living creatures'/'seres vivientes.' The four zōa combine two older visions that had never before been combined — the four faces (lion, ox, man, eagle) come from Ezekiel's throne-vision (Ezekiel 1:5-10), where each single creature carries all four faces at once; the six wings and the unceasing cry come from Isaiah's seraphim (Isaiah 6:2-3). John gives his four creatures one face each rather than four apiece, reworking rather than simply repeating his sources. → first discussed at Rev 4:6