Psalms 83:2-8

83:2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;

those who hate you are hostile. ¹ 

83:3 They carefully plot ²  against your people,

and make plans to harm ³  the ones you cherish. ⁴ 

83:4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! ⁵ 

Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”

83:5 Yes, ⁶  they devise a unified strategy; ⁷ 

they form an alliance ⁸  against you.

83:6 It includes ⁹  the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

Moab and the Hagrites, ¹⁰ 

83:7 Gebal, ¹¹  Ammon, and Amalek,

Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. ¹² 

83:8 Even Assyria has allied with them,

lending its strength to the descendants of Lot. ¹³  (Selah)

Joel 3:9-14

Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat

3:9 Proclaim this among the nations:

“Prepare for a holy war!

Call out the warriors!

Let all these fighting men approach and attack! ¹⁴ 

3:10 Beat your plowshares ¹⁵  into swords,

and your pruning hooks ¹⁶  into spears! ¹⁷ 

Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ ¹⁸ 

3:11 Lend your aid ¹⁹  and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves ²⁰  to that place.”

Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! ²¹ 

3:12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up

to the valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.

3:13 Rush forth with ²²  the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!

Come, stomp the grapes, ²³  for the winepress is full!

The vats overflow.

Indeed, their evil is great! ²⁴ 

3:14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,

for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! ²⁵ 

Revelation 17:12-14

17:12 The ²⁶  ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority ²⁷  as kings with the beast for one hour. 17:13 These kings ²⁸  have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 17:14 They will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those accompanying ²⁹  the Lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful.”

Revelation 17:17

17:17 For God has put into their minds ³⁰  to carry out his purpose ³¹  by making ³²  a decision ³³  to give their royal power ³⁴  to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. ³⁵ 

Revelation 19:16-21

19:16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

19:17 Then ³⁶  I saw one angel standing in ³⁷  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ³⁸ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ³⁹  of God,

19:18 to eat ⁴⁰  your fill ⁴¹  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, ⁴² 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, ⁴³ 

and small and great!”

19:19 Then ⁴⁴  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 ⁴⁵  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ⁴⁶  – 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. ⁴⁷  19:21 The ⁴⁸  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ⁴⁹  themselves with their flesh.

[83:2]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up [their] head[s].” The phrase “lift up [the] head” here means “to threaten; to be hostile,” as in Judg 8:28.

[83:3]  ² tn Heb “they make crafty a plot.”

[83:3]  ³ tn Heb “and consult together against.”

[83:3]  ⁴ tn The passive participle of the Hebrew verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”) is used here in the sense of “treasured; cherished.”

[83:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “we will cause them to disappear from [being] a nation.”

[83:5]  ⁶ tn Or “for.”

[83:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “they consult [with] a heart together.”

[83:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[83:6]  ⁹ tn The words “it includes” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[83:6]  ¹⁰ sn The Hagrites are also mentioned in 1 Chr 5:10, 19-20.

[83:7]  ¹¹ sn Some identify Gebal with the Phoenician coastal city of Byblos (see Ezek 27:9, where the name is spelled differently), though others locate this site south of the Dead Sea (see BDB 148 s.v. גְּבַל; HALOT 174 s.v. גְּבַל).

[83:7]  ¹² map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[83:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “they are an arm for the sons of Lot.” The “arm” is here a symbol of military might.

[3:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “draw near and go up.”

[3:10]  ¹⁵ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[3:10]  ¹⁶ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[3:10]  ¹⁷ sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.

[3:10]  ¹⁸ sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.

[3:11]  ¹⁹ tn This Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ (’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).

[3:11]  ²⁰ tc The present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavÿtsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו) consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ (vÿniqbbatsu) of the MT.

[3:11]  ²¹ tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O Lord, your warriors,” understanding it to be a later addition. But this is unnecessary. Contrary to what some have suggested, a prayer for the Lord’s intervention is not out of place here.

[3:13]  ²² tn Heb “send.”

[3:13]  ²³ tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ²⁴ sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).

[3:14]  ²⁵ sn The decision referred to here is not a response on the part of the crowd, but the verdict handed out by the divine judge.

[17:12]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:12]  ²⁷ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[17:13]  ²⁸ tn The word “kings” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to clarify the referent.

[17:14]  ²⁹ tn See BDAG 636 s.v. μετά A.2.a.α.

[17:17]  ³⁰ tn Grk “hearts.”

[17:17]  ³¹ tn Or “his intent.”

[17:17]  ³² tn The infinitive ποιῆσαι (poihsai) was translated here as giving the logical means by which God’s purpose was carried out.

[17:17]  ³³ tn On this term BDAG 203 s.v. γνώμη 4 states, “declaration, decision, resolution…of God Rv 17:17.”

[17:17]  ³⁴ tn For this translation see BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a, “kingship, royal power, royal rule.”

[17:17]  ³⁵ tn Or “completed.”

[19:17]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ³⁷ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

[19:18]  ⁴⁰ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

[19:18]  ⁴¹ tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

[19:18]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ⁴⁹ 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).”