Two Pathways to Invasion

¹⁸ This message came to me from the Lord: ¹⁹ “Now, Son of Man, demarcate two pathways by which the sword of Babylon’s king will arrive in the land. Both pathways will lead from a single land.

“Make a sign,^[a] carving it out and installing it at the junction on the way to the city. ²⁰ Set it to point one way for bringing the sword against Rabbah, the descendants of Ammon, and the other way against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.

²¹ “Meanwhile, Babylon’s king is standing at the fork of the road,^[b] where he can head in either of two directions, and that’s where he is practicing divination. Shaking his arrows, he’s asking questions of his teraphim while he examines livers. ²² On his right hand he is divining against Jerusalem, preparing to set up battering rams, preparing^[c] for the slaughter, getting ready to sound the alarm for battle,^[d] setting the battering rams in place at the gates, building siege mounds, and erecting a siege wall. ²³ In their view, it will seem to be a false prophecy, but because they swore allegiance, he’ll make them remember their guilt as he takes them captive.”

Imminent Invasion

²⁴ Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Because you remembered your sins when your transgressions were uncovered, your sins are visibly evident in everything you’ve done. And since you’ve remembered them, you’ll be taken captive.