Isaiah 13:6-8

13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment ¹  is near;

it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. ² 

13:7 For this reason all hands hang limp, ³ 

every human heart loses its courage. ⁴ 

13:8 They panic –

cramps and pain seize hold of them

like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.

They look at one another in astonishment;

their faces are flushed red. ⁵ 

Isaiah 24:21

The Lord Will Become King

24:21 At that time ⁶  the Lord will punish ⁷ 

the heavenly forces in the heavens ⁸ 

and the earthly kings on the earth.

Revelation 6:15

6:15 Then ⁹  the kings of the earth, the ¹⁰  very important people, the generals, ¹¹  the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave ¹²  and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

Revelation 19:17-21

19:17 Then ¹³  I saw one angel standing in ¹⁴  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ¹⁵ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ¹⁶  of God,

19:18 to eat ¹⁷  your fill ¹⁸  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, ¹⁹ 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, ²⁰ 

and small and great!”

19:19 Then ²¹  I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army. 19:20 Now ²²  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ²³  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ²⁴  19:21 The ²⁵  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ²⁶  themselves with their flesh.

[13:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the day of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).

[13:6]  ² tn Heb “like destruction from the sovereign judge it comes.” The comparative preposition (כְּ, kÿ) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the destruction unleashed will have all the earmarks of divine judgment. One could paraphrase, “it comes as only destructive divine judgment can.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x.

[13:7]  ³ tn Heb “drop”; KJV “be faint”; ASV “be feeble”; NAB “fall helpless.”

[13:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “melts” (so NAB).

[13:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.

[24:21]  ⁶ tn Or “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “visit [in judgment].”

[24:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “the host of the height in the height.” The “host of the height/heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13).

[6:15]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:15]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated; nor is it translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “chiliarchs.” A chiliarch was normally 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).

[6:15]  ¹² tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:17]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ¹⁴ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ¹⁵ 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.

[19:17]  ¹⁶ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

[19:18]  ¹⁷ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

[19:18]  ¹⁸ tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

[19:18]  ¹⁹ 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).

[19:18]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:19]  ²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ²³ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ²⁴ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ²⁶ tn On the translation of ἐχορτάσθησαν (ecortasqhsan) BDAG 1087 s.v. χορτάζω 1.a states, “of animals, pass. in act. sense πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα ἐχορτάσθησαν ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτῶν all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh Rv 19:21 (cp. TestJud. 21:8).”