Revelation 19:15-21

19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ¹  He ²  will rule ³  them with an iron rod, ⁴  and he stomps the winepress ⁵  of the furious ⁶  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ⁷  19:16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

19:17 Then ⁸  I saw one angel standing in ⁹  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ¹⁰ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ¹¹  of God,

19:18 to eat ¹²  your fill ¹³  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, ¹⁴ 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, ¹⁵ 

and small and great!”

19:19 Then ¹⁶  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 ¹⁷  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ¹⁸  – 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. ¹⁹  19:21 The ²⁰  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ²¹  themselves with their flesh.

Deuteronomy 32:32-33

32:32 For their vine is from the stock ²²  of Sodom,

and from the fields of Gomorrah. ²³ 

Their grapes contain venom,

their clusters of grapes are bitter.

32:33 Their wine is snakes’ poison,

the deadly venom of cobras.

[19:15]  ¹ tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[19:15]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:15]  ³ tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[19:15]  ⁴ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[19:15]  ⁵ 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.

[19:15]  ⁶ 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).

[19:15]  ⁷ 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.”

[19:17]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ⁹ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

[19:18]  ¹² tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

[19:18]  ¹³ tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

[19:18]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:19]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ²¹ 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).”

[32:32]  ²² tn Heb “vine.”

[32:32]  ²³ sn Sodom…Gomorrah. The term “vine” is a reference to the pagan deities which, the passage says, find their ultimate source in Sodom and Gomorrah, that is, in the soil of perversion exemplified by these places (cf. Gen 18:20; 19:4-28; Isa 1:10; 3:9; Jer 23:14; Lam 4:6; Ezek 16:44-52; Matt 10:15; 11:23-24).