Revelation 4:4

In the earliest manuscripts (cf. Nestle/WH) the phrase καὶ κυκλόθεν τοῦ θρόνου θρόνους εἴκοσι τέσσαρας employs the accusative plural θρόνους and τέσσαρας, suggesting that the twenty-four thrones are the direct object of an implied verb, such as "he placed" (e.g., ἔθηκεν) or "he set." This contrasts with the nominative θρόνοι εἴκοσι τέσσαρες as used in the later variants where the thrones are the subject of a descriptive or existential clause. In an existential sense, the nominative case would be necessary (e.g., ἦσαν θρόνοι εἴκοσι τέσσαρες, "there were twenty-four thrones"). The accusative form implies a transitive action rather than a simple state of being, i.e. "they are set upon."

In the phrase, τὰς κεφαλὰς ("the heads") and στεφάνους ("crowns") are also in the accusative plural case. The accusative case here is used because both nouns are apparently governed by the preposition ἐπὶ, which is modifying them in the accusative. Thus στεφάνους is also seems to be the direct object of an implied verb (such as "they placed" or "they set").