Amsal 30:17

30:17 The eye ¹  that mocks at a father

and despises obeying ²  a mother –

the ravens of the valley will peck it out

and the young vultures will eat it. ³ 

Yehezkiel 39:17

39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter ⁴  which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood.

Matius 24:28

24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures ⁵  will gather. ⁶ 

Lukas 17:37

17:37 Then ⁷  the disciples ⁸  said ⁹  to him, “Where, ¹⁰  Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body ¹¹  is, there the vultures ¹²  will gather.” ¹³ 

[30:17]  ¹ sn The “eye” as the organ that exhibits the inner feelings most clearly, here represents a look of scorn or disdain that speaks volumes (a metonymy of cause or of adjunct). It is comparable to the “evil eye” which is stinginess (28:22).

[30:17]  ² tn The Hebrew word לִיקֲּהַת (liqqahat, “obeying”) occurs only here and in Gen 49:10; it seems to mean “to receive” in the sense of “receiving instruction” or “obeying.” C. H. Toy suggests emending to “to old age” (לְזִקְנַת, lÿziqnat) of the mother (Proverbs [ICC], 530). The LXX with γῆρας (ghra", “old age”) suggests that a root lhq had something to do with “white hair.” D. W. Thomas suggests a corruption from lhyqt to lyqht; it would have read, “The eye that mocks a father and despises an aged mother” (“A Note on לִיקֲּהַת in Proverbs 30:17,” JTS 42 [1941]: 154-55); this is followed by NAB “or scorns an aged mother.”

[30:17]  ³ sn The sternest punishment is for the evil eye. The punishment is talionic – eye for eye. The reference to “the valley” may indicate a place where people are not be given decent burials and the birds of prey pick the corpses clean. It is an image the prophets use in judgment passages.

[39:17]  ⁴ tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

[24:28]  ⁵ tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.

[24:28]  sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment. See also Luke 17:37.

[24:28]  ⁶ tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.

[17:37]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[17:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the disciples, v. 22) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:37]  ⁹ tn Grk “answering, they said to him.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:37]  ¹⁰ sn The question “Where, Lord?” means, “Where will the judgment take place?”

[17:37]  ¹¹ tn Or “corpse.”

[17:37]  ¹² tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures, because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.

[17:37]  sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment.

[17:37]  ¹³ tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.