Ezekiel 21:18-24

The Voice

¹⁸The word of the Eternal came to me regarding Babylon’s sword.

Eternal One: ¹⁹Son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of Babylon’s king to take. Have both roads begin in the same place. Make a signpost, and put it at the fork in the road: ²⁰one road leading the sword to Ammon and its capital, Rabbah; the other road leading to Judah and its fortified capital, Jerusalem. ²¹The Babylonian king will stop at the fork in the road and look for a sign to see which way to go: he will shake the arrows and draw one, call to his household gods^[a] for advice, and examine an animal liver.

Kings never go into battle without first looking for signs and omens. War is too risky—even for Babylon—not to have the blessings of the gods. The Babylonian king stops at the crossroads: which way should he go? So he calls for his priests to consult the gods for signs. Their mediation may be something like drawing straws. At times it involves the ancient practice of “reading” the liver of a sacrificial animal. When a king wants to make sure his decision is the correct one, he uses several forms of divination. The ancients do not believe in chance; they believe their gods are involved in orchestrating their lives and decisions. In this case, Babylon’s king happens to be correct because the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is directing him to take the road to Jerusalem.

Eternal One: ²²He reads “Jerusalem” in his right hand, so he will march first in that direction with battering rams for the gates and a command to massacre the city, sounding war cries and building siege ramps and siege walls. ²³Everyone in Jerusalem will believe the omen to be false because they had pledged loyalty to Babylon. But his actions will remind the doubters of their guilt, and they will be taken prisoners.

(to the Israelites) ²⁴Because you have reminded Me of your sins and once again exposed your rebellious ways, making every wicked thing you ever did obvious, you will be forcefully taken prisoner.

Read full chapter