19:17 Then 10 I saw one angel standing in 11 the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: 12
“Come, gather around for the great banquet 13 of God,
19:18 to eat 14 your fill 15 of the flesh of kings,
the flesh of generals, 16
the flesh of powerful people,
the flesh of horses and those who ride them,
and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, 17
and small and great!”
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”
3 tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
4 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
5 tn Grk “will shepherd.”
6 tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”
sn A quotation from Ps 2:9 (see also Rev 2:27, 12:5).
7 sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.
8 tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).
9 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
11 tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.
12 tn On μεσουρανήματι (mesouranhmati) here see L&N 1.10: “high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.” The birds mentioned here are carrion birds like vultures, circling high overhead, and now being summoned to feast on the corpses.
13 tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.
14 tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.
15 tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.
16 tn Grk “chiliarchs”; normally a chiliarch was a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).
17 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.