Proverbs 7:14

7:14 “I have ¹  fresh meat at home; ² 

today I have fulfilled my vows!

Proverbs 17:1

17:1 Better is a dry crust of bread ³  where there is quietness ⁴ 

than a house full of feasting with strife. ⁵ 

Isaiah 22:13

22:13 But look, there is outright celebration! ⁶ 

You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,

eat meat and drink wine.

Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” ⁷ 

Ezekiel 39:17

39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter ⁸  which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood.

Revelation 19:17-18

19:17 Then ⁹  I saw one angel standing in ¹⁰  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ¹¹ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ¹²  of God,

19:18 to eat ¹³  your fill ¹⁴  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, ¹⁵ 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, ¹⁶ 

and small and great!”

[7:14]  ¹ tn Heb “with me.”

[7:14]  ² tn Heb “I have peace offerings.” The peace offerings refer to the meat left over from the votive offering made at the sanctuary (e.g., Lev 7:11-21). Apparently the sacrificial worship meant as little to this woman spiritually as does Christmas to modern hypocrites who follow in her pattern. By expressing that she has peace offerings, she could be saying nothing more than that she has fresh meat for a meal at home, or that she was ceremonially clean, perhaps after her period. At any rate, it is all probably a ruse for winning a customer.

[17:1]  ³ tn The phrase “a dry piece of bread” is like bread without butter, a morsel of bread not dipped in vinegar mix (e.g., Ruth 2:14). It represents here a simple, humble meal.

[17:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and quietness in it”; the construction functions as a circumstantial clause: “in which there is quietness” or “with quietness.”

[17:1]  ⁵ tn The house is described as being full of “sacrifices of strife” (זִבְחֵי־רִיב, zivkhi-riv). The use of “sacrifices” suggests a connection with the temple (as in 7:14) in which the people may have made their sacrifices and had a large amount meat left over. It is also possible that the reference is simply to a sumptuous meal (Deut 12:15; Isa 34:6; Ezek 39:17). It would be rare for Israelites to eat meat apart from festivals, however. In the construction the genitive could be classified as a genitive of effect, the feast in general “bringing about strife,” or it could simply be an attributive genitive, “a feast characterized by strife.” Abundance often brings deterioration of moral and ethical standards as well as an increase in envy and strife.

[22:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “happiness and joy.”

[22:13]  ⁷ tn The prophet here quotes what the fatalistic people are saying. The introductory “you say” is supplied in the translation for clarification; the concluding verb “we die” makes it clear the people are speaking. The six verbs translated as imperatives are actually infinitives absolute, functioning here as finite verbs.

[39:17]  ⁸ tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

[19:17]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ¹⁰ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

[19:18]  ¹³ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

[19:18]  ¹⁴ tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

[19:18]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.