Revelation 14:19

14:19 So ¹  the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard ²  of the earth and tossed them into the great ³  winepress of the wrath of God.

Revelation 18:21

18:21 Then ⁴  one powerful angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone, threw it into the sea, and said,

“With this kind of sudden violent force ⁵ 

Babylon the great city will be thrown down ⁶ 

and it will never be found again!

[14:19]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the angel’s directions.

[14:19]  ² tn Or “vine.” BDAG 54 s.v. ἄμπελος a states, “τρυγᾶν τοὺς βότρυας τῆς ἀ. τῆς γῆς to harvest the grapes fr. the vine of the earth (i.e. fr. the earth, symbol. repr. as a grapevine) Rv 14:18f; but ἀ may be taking on the meaning of ἀμπελών, as oft. in pap., possibly PHib. 70b, 2 [III bc].” The latter alternative has been followed in the translation (ἀμπελών = “vineyard”).

[14:19]  ³ tn Although the gender of μέγαν (megan, masc.) does not match the gender of ληνόν (lhnon, fem.) it has been taken to modify that word (as do most English translations).

[18:21]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[18:21]  ⁵ tn On ὅρμημα ({ormhma) BDAG 724 s.v. states, “violent rush, onset ὁρμήματι βληθήσεται Βαβυλών Babylon will be thrown down with violence Rv 18:21.” L&N 68.82 refers to the suddenness of the force or violence.

[18:21]  ⁶ sn Thrown down is a play on both the words and the action. The angel’s action with the stone illustrates the kind of sudden violent force with which the city will be overthrown.