God’s Word Translation
Revelation 19:18
18Eat the flesh of kings, generals, warriors, horses and their riders, and all free people and slaves, both important or insignificant people.”
Revelation 19:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
- New International Version (NIV)so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great."
- New King James Version (NKJV)that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
Context of Revelation 19:18
16On his clothes and his thigh he has a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 17I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come! Gather for the great banquet of God. Eat the flesh of kings, generals, warriors, horses and their riders, and all free people and slaves, both important or insignificant people.” 19I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20The beast and the false prophet who had done miracles for the beast were captured. By these miracles the false prophet had deceived those who had the brand of the beast and worshiped its statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
Read all of Revelation 19Revelation 19:18 word by word
ἵνα φάγητε σάρκας βασιλέων καὶ σάρκας χιλιάρχων καὶ σάρκας ἰσχυρῶν καὶ σάρκας ἵππων καὶ τῶν καθημένων ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ σάρκας πάντων, ἐλευθέρων τε καὶ δούλων καὶ μικρῶν καὶ μεγάλων.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- ye may eatφαγεῖνphagō · to eatG5315
- the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
- of kingsβασιλεύςbasileus · kingG935
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- of captainsχιλίαρχοςchiliarchos · military officerG5506
- of mighty menἰσχυρόςischuros · strongG2478
- of horsesἵπποςhippos · horseG2462
- of them that sitὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- of them that sitκάθημαιkathēmai · to sitG2521
- onἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- of allπᾶςpas · allG3956
- freeἐλεύθεροςeleutheros · free/freedomG1658
- bondδοῦλοςdoulos · slaveG1401
- smallμικρόςmikros mikroteros · smallG3398
- greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
Cross-references for Revelation 19:18
- Deuteronomy 28:26Your dead bodies will be food for all the birds and wild animals. There will be no one to scare them away.
- 1 Samuel 17:44“Come on,” the Philistine told David, “and I’ll give your body to the birds.”
- Psalms 110:5The Lord is at your right side. He will crush kings on the day of his anger.
- Jeremiah 7:33The dead bodies of these people will become food for birds and animals, and no one will be there to frighten them away.
- Jeremiah 16:4They will die horrible deaths. No one will mourn for them or bury them. They will be like manure on the ground. Wars and famines will bring them to an end. Their bodies will be food for birds and animals.
- Jeremiah 19:7I will smash the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will cut them down with swords in front of their enemies and with the hands of those who want to kill them. I will give their bodies as food to birds and to animals.
- Jeremiah 34:20I will hand them over to their enemies who want to kill them, and their corpses will be food for birds and wild animals.
- Ezekiel 29:5I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish from the Nile. You will fall in an open field. No one will pick you up or bury you. I will feed you to wild animals and birds.
- Ezekiel 39:18You can eat the meat of warriors and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. All of them will be killed like rams, lambs, goats, bulls and all the best animals of Bashan.
- Matthew 24:28Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.
- Luke 17:37They asked him, “Where, Lord?” Jesus told them, “Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.”
- Revelation 6:15Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains.
- Revelation 13:16The second beast forces all people—important and unimportant people, rich and poor people, free people and slaves—to be branded on their right hands or on their foreheads.
Commentaries on Revelation 19:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings - There shall be a universal destruction; the kings, generals, captains, and all their host, shall be slain.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings - Of the kings under the control of the beast and the false prophet, Revelation 16:14; Revelation 17:12-14. And the flesh of captains - Of those subordinate to kings in command. The Greek word is ́ chiliarchōn- “chiliarchs” - denoting captains of a thousand, or, as we should say, commanders of a regiment. The word “colonel” would better convey the idea with us; as he is the commander of a regiment, and a regiment is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-21Verses 11-21 Christ, the glorious Head of the church, is described as on a white horse, the emblem of justice and holiness. He has many crowns, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is arrayed in a vesture dipped in his own blood, by which he purchased his power as Mediator; and in the blood of his enemies, over whom he always prevails. His name is "The Word of God;" a name none fully knows but himself; only this we know, that this Word was God…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-19gather together for the great supper: This feast on the flesh of the armies fighting against Christ contrasts with the marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7). The enemies ready for battle are quickly destroyed (Revelation 19:20–21; see also 14:17–20; 16:16–21). Two feasts (the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19:7–8 and the "great supper" of God's judgment in Revelation 19:17–18, 21) offer two views on the end of time. They show the two sides of…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. Contrast with this "supper," Re 19:17, 18, the marriage supper of the Lamb, Re 19:9. captains--Greek, "captains of thousands," that is, chief captains. The "kings" are "the ten" who "give their power unto the beast." free and bond--specified in Re 13:16, as "receiving the mark of the beast." The repetition of flesh (in the Greek it is plural: masses of flesh) five times in this verse, marks the gross carnality of the followers of the beast. Again, the…Read the comment
Topics related to Revelation 19:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Revelation 19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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