Revelation 19:18
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.
Study Note
Study Note
The angel's summons to birds — 'that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses' — constitutes the grim antithesis to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in 19:9, structuring chapter 19 as a diptych of two suppers: one of divine celebration, one of divine judgment. The passage deliberately inverts the conventional imagery of military victory, where victors feast and the slain are consumed by birds and beasts — here the feast is not for the victorious armies but for scavenging carrion birds, reducing the 'great army' of 19:19 to carrion. The imagery draws on Ezekiel 39:17-20's great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel following God's defeat of Gog and Magog, which Revelation reappropriates for its climactic battle scene. The passage has shaped Christian eschatological imagination and imagery from early patristic commentaries onward.
Other Translations
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 thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.
that ye may eat flesh of kings, and flesh of chiefs of thousands, and flesh of strong men, and flesh of horses, and of those sitting on them, and the flesh of all--freemen and servants--both small and great.'
So that you may take for your food the flesh of kings, and of captains, and of strong men, and of horses and of those who are seated on them, and the flesh of all men, free and unfree, small and great.
Cross References
And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and …
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from …
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the …
I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their …
And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to …
They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be …
And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of …
Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of …
Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, …
And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall …