Revelation 19:17
New International Version
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

New Living Translation
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared.

English Standard Version
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,

Berean Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

Berean Literal Bible
And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in loud a voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, "Come, gather yourselves unto the great supper of God,

King James Bible
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

New King James Version
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,

New American Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God,

NASB 1995
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God,

NASB 1977
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God;

Legacy Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God,

Amplified Bible
Then I saw a single angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he shouted to all the birds that fly in midheaven, saying, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

Christian Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he called out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel standing on the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

American Standard Version
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God;

Contemporary English Version
I then saw an angel standing on the sun, and he shouted to all the birds flying in the sky, "Come and join in God's great feast!

English Revised Version
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I 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.

Good News Translation
Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair: "Come and gather together for God's great feast!

International Standard Version
Then I 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 supper of God.

Majority Standard Bible
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God,

NET Bible
Then I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: "Come, gather around for the great banquet of God,

New Heart English Bible
I saw an angel standing in the sun. He shouted with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, "Come. Be gathered together to the great supper of God,

Webster's Bible Translation
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come, and assemble yourselves to the supper of the great God;

Weymouth New Testament
And I saw a single angel standing in the full light of the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds that flew across the sky, "Come and be present at God's great supper,

World English Bible
I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, “Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And I saw one messenger standing in the sun, and he cried [with] a great voice, saying to all the birds that are flying in midair, “Come and be gathered together to the banquet of the great God [[or the great banquet of God]],

Berean Literal Bible
And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in loud a voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, "Come, gather yourselves unto the great supper of God,

Young's Literal Translation
And I saw one messenger standing in the sun, and he cried, a great voice, saying to all the birds that are flying in mid-heaven, 'Come and be gathered together to the supper of the great God,

Smith's Literal Translation
And I saw one angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds flying in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves to the supper of the great God;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that did fly through the midst of heaven: Come, gather yourselves together to the great supper of God:

Catholic Public Domain Version
And I saw a certain Angel, standing in the sun. And he cried out with a great voice, saying to all the birds that were flying through the midst of the sky, “Come and gather together for the great supper of God,

New American Bible
Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He cried out [in] a loud voice to all the birds flying high overhead, “Come here. Gather for God’s great feast,

New Revised Standard Version
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together for the great supper of God;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And I saw another Angel standing in the sun and crying with a loud voice, and he said to the birds flying in the midst of the sky, “Come, gather to the great supper of God”,
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven. Come, gather yourselves to the great supper of God,

Godbey New Testament
And I saw one angel standing on the sun; and he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds which fly in the midst of heaven, Come, gather yourselves to the great banquet of God;

Haweis New Testament
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls which fly in the midst of heaven, Come hither and flock together unto the supper of the great God:

Mace New Testament
I saw likewise an angel standing upon the sun; and he cryed with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, "come and gather your selves together to the supper of the great God;

Weymouth New Testament
And I saw a single angel standing in the full light of the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds that flew across the sky, "Come and be present at God's great supper,

Worrell New Testament
And I saw one angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a great voice saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, "Come, gather yourselves together to the great supper of God;

Worsley New Testament
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the banquet of the great God;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Defeat of the Beast and False Prophet
16And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of everyone slave and free, small and great.”…

Cross References
Ezekiel 39:17-20
And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. / You will eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Bashan. / At the sacrifice I am preparing, you will eat fat until you are gorged and drink blood until you are drunk. ...

Matthew 24:28
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

Luke 17:37
“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”

Jeremiah 12:9
Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.

Isaiah 34:6
The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

Isaiah 18:6
They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts of the land. The birds will feed on them in summer, and all the wild animals in winter.

Zephaniah 1:7-8
Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests. / “On the Day of the LORD’s sacrifice I will punish the princes, the sons of the king, and all who are dressed in foreign apparel.

Isaiah 56:9
Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.

Jeremiah 7:33
The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.

Ezekiel 29:5
I will leave you in the desert, you and all the fish of your streams. You will fall on the open field and will not be taken away or gathered for burial. I have given you as food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air.

Ezekiel 32:4-5
I will abandon you on the land and hurl you into the open field. I will cause all the birds of the air to settle upon you, and all the beasts of the earth to eat their fill of you. / I will put your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your remains.

Ezekiel 33:27
Tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘As surely as I live, those in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I will give to be devoured by wild animals, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.

Ezekiel 34:8
‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,

Ezekiel 35:8
I will fill its mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines.

Ezekiel 39:4
On the mountains of Israel you will fall—you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to every kind of ravenous bird and wild beast.


Treasury of Scripture

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the middle of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God;

an angel.

Revelation 8:13
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Revelation 14:6
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Isaiah 34:1-8
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it…

saying.

Revelation 19:21
And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Isaiah 56:9
All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.

Jeremiah 12:9
Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.

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Angel Assemble Birds Cried Flew Fly Flying Fowls Full Gather Gathered God's Great Heaven Loud Midst Present Single Sky Standing Sun Supper Together Voice Yourselves
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Angel Assemble Birds Cried Flew Fly Flying Fowls Full Gather Gathered God's Great Heaven Loud Midst Present Single Sky Standing Sun Supper Together Voice Yourselves
Revelation 19
1. God is praised in heaven for judging the great harlot, and avenging the blood of his saints.
7. The marriage of the Lamb.
10. The angel will not be worshipped.
17. The birds called to the great slaughter.














Then I saw
The phrase "Then I saw" is a common introductory formula in the Book of Revelation, indicating a new vision or scene being revealed to John. The Greek word for "saw" is "εἶδον" (eidon), which implies not just physical sight but also spiritual insight or understanding. This emphasizes the revelatory nature of the visions given to John, underscoring the divine origin and authority of the message.

an angel
The presence of "an angel" signifies a messenger of God, a common motif throughout Revelation. Angels are often depicted as executing God's will and delivering His messages. The Greek word "ἄγγελος" (angelos) means "messenger," highlighting the role of angels as intermediaries between God and humanity. This angel's appearance underscores the divine orchestration of the events being described.

standing in the sun
The imagery of the angel "standing in the sun" suggests a position of prominence and authority. The sun, a symbol of light and visibility, indicates that the angel's message is meant to be seen and heard by all. This positioning also reflects the glory and power associated with divine messengers, as the sun is often a symbol of God's majesty and righteousness.

and he cried out in a loud voice
The phrase "cried out in a loud voice" conveys urgency and authority. The Greek word for "cried out" is "ἔκραξεν" (ekraxen), which implies a strong, commanding proclamation. This loud voice ensures that the message is heard by all creation, emphasizing the importance and immediacy of the angel's announcement.

to all the birds flying overhead
The reference to "all the birds flying overhead" draws on Old Testament imagery, particularly from Ezekiel 39:17-20, where birds are summoned to feast on the flesh of defeated enemies. In the context of Revelation, these birds symbolize the agents of divine judgment, called to participate in the aftermath of God's victory over evil.

Come, gather together
The invitation "Come, gather together" is a call to action, urging the birds to assemble for a specific purpose. The Greek word "συνάγεσθε" (synagesthe) means "to gather" or "to assemble," indicating a divinely orchestrated event. This gathering signifies the culmination of God's judgment and the fulfillment of His righteous plans.

for the great supper of God
The phrase "for the great supper of God" contrasts with the "marriage supper of the Lamb" mentioned earlier in Revelation 19:9. While the marriage supper celebrates the union of Christ and His Church, the great supper of God represents the judgment and destruction of the wicked. This dual imagery highlights the ultimate triumph of good over evil and the establishment of God's kingdom. The "great supper" serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of rejecting God's grace and the certainty of His justice.

Verse 17. - And I saw an angel standing in the sun. That is, in mid heaven (as in Revelation 8:13, etc.); in a place befitting his glory, and also whence he can appropriately issue his summons. And he cried with a loud voice. As is usual in all the heavenly utterances (see Revelation 5:2, etc.). Saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven; the birds that fly in mid heaven (Revised Version) (vide supra); see Ezekiel 39:17, et seq., for the origin of the imagery here employed. Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; come, be gathered together unto the great supper of God (Revised Version). Not, of course, the "supper" of ver. 9, but rather a contrast to it; that supper which is reserved for the ungodly, at which they form the prey. The language is employed in filling in the accessory details of the central image, and must not be pressed too far in particular directions; e.g. Andreas considers the birds to be good angels.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Then
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

I saw
εἶδον (eidon)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.

an
ἕνα (hena)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1520: One. (including the neuter Hen); a primary numeral; one.

angel
ἄγγελον (angelon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 32: From aggello; a messenger; especially an 'angel'; by implication, a pastor.

standing
ἑστῶτα (hestōta)
Verb - Perfect Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2476: A prolonged form of a primary stao stah'-o; to stand, used in various applications.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

the
τῷ (tō)
Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

sun,
ἡλίῳ (hēliō)
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2246: The sun, sunlight. From hele; the sun; by implication, light.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

he cried out
ἔκραξεν (ekraxen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2896: To cry aloud, shriek. A primary verb; properly, to 'croak' or scream, i.e. to call aloud.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

a loud
μεγάλῃ (megalē)
Adjective - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3173: Large, great, in the widest sense.

voice
φωνῇ (phōnē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5456: Probably akin to phaino through the idea of disclosure; a tone; by implication, an address, saying or language.

to all
πᾶσιν (pasin)
Adjective - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

the
τοῖς (tois)
Article - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

birds
ὀρνέοις (orneois)
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3732: A bird, fowl. Neuter of a presumed derivative of ornis; a birdling.

flying
πετομένοις (petomenois)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 4072: To fly. Or prolongation petaomai, or contracted ptaomai middle voice of a primary verb; to fly.

overhead,
μεσουρανήματι (mesouranēmati)
Noun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3321: Mid-heaven, the middle of heaven, the zenith. From a presumed compound of mesos and ouranos; mid-sky.

“Come,
Δεῦτε (Deute)
Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1205: Come hither, come, hither, an exclamatory word. From deuro and an imperative form of eimi; come hither!

gather together
συνάχθητε (synachthēte)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Passive - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4863: From sun and ago; to lead together, i.e. Collect or convene; specially, to entertain.

for
εἰς (eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

the
τὸ (to)
Article - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

great
μέγα (mega)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3173: Large, great, in the widest sense.

supper
δεῖπνον (deipnon)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 1173: A dinner, an afternoon or evening meal. From the same as dapane; dinner, i.e. The chief meal.

of God,
Θεοῦ (Theou)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316: A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.


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NT Prophecy: Revelation 19:17 I saw an angel standing (Rev. Re Apocalypse)
Revelation 19:16
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