Revelation 8:13

8:13 Then ¹  I looked, and I heard an ²  eagle ³  flying directly overhead, ⁴  proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who live on the earth because of the remaining sounds of the trumpets of the three angels who are about to blow them!” ⁵ 

Revelation 14:6

Three Angels and Three Messages

14:6 Then ⁶  I saw another ⁷  angel flying directly overhead, ⁸  and he had ⁹  an eternal gospel to proclaim ¹⁰  to those who live ¹¹  on the earth – to every nation, tribe, ¹²  language, and people.

Revelation 19:17

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,

[8:13]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[8:13]  ² tn Grk “one eagle.”

[8:13]  ³ tc Ï^A reads “angel” (ἀγγέλου, angelou) instead of “eagle” (ἀετοῦ, aetou), a reading strongly supported by {א A 046 Ï^K and several versions}. On external grounds, ἀετοῦ is clearly the superior reading. ἀγγέλου could have arisen inadvertently due to similarities in spelling or sound between ἀετοῦ and ἀγγέλου. It may also have been intentional in order to bring this statement in line with 14:6 where an angel is mentioned as the one flying in midair. This seems a more likely reason, strengthened by the facts that the book only mentions eagles two other times (4:7; 12:14). Further, the immediate as well as broad context is replete with references to angels.

[8:13]  ⁴ tn Concerning the word μεσουράνημα (mesouranhma), L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’ εἶδον, καὶ ἤκουσα ἑνὸς ἁετοῦ πετομένου ἐν μεσουρανήματι ‘I looked, and I heard an eagle that was flying overhead in the sky’ Re 8:13.”

[8:13]  ⁵ tn Grk “about to sound their trumpets,” but this is redundant in English.

[14:6]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:6]  ⁷ tc Most mss (Ì47 א* Ï sa) lack ἄλλον (allon, “another”) here, but the support for it is stronger (Ì^115vid א² A C P 051 1006 1611 1841 2053 2329 al latt sy bo). The problem that its inclusion represents is that there is no reference to any other angel in the immediate context (the last mention was in 11:15). In this instance, the longer reading is harder. The word was probably intentionally omitted in order to resolve the tension; less likely, it might have been accidentally omitted since its spelling is similar to “angel” (ἄγγελος, angelos).

[14:6]  ⁸ tn L&N 1.10 states, “a point or region of the sky directly above the earth – ‘high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.’”

[14:6]  ⁹ tn Grk “having.”

[14:6]  ¹⁰ tn Or “an eternal gospel to announce as good news.”

[14:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to those seated on the earth.”

[14:6]  ¹² tn Grk “and tribe,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here or before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[19:17]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ¹² tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.