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Ezekiel 21:18-24
New English Translation

18 The Lord’s message came to me: 19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. 20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: ‘Rabbah of the Ammonites’ and ‘Judah with Jerusalem in it.’[a] 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork[b] in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens:[c] He shakes arrows, he consults idols,[d] he examines[e] animal livers.[f] 22 Into his right hand[g] comes the portent for Jerusalem—to set up battering rams, to give the signal[h] for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry,[i] to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 23 But those in Jerusalem[j] will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths,[k] but the king of Babylon[l] will accuse them of violations[m] in order to seize them.[n]

24 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because you have brought up[o] your own guilt by uncovering your transgressions and revealing your sins through all your actions, for this reason you will be taken by force.[p]

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 21:20 tc The MT reads “Judah in fortified Jerusalem,” a geographic impossibility. The translation follows the LXX, which assumes בְּתוֹכָהּ (betokhah, “in it”) for בְּצוּרָה (betsurah, “fortified”). sn As the Babylonians approached from the north, one road would branch off to the left and lead down the east side of the Jordan River to Ammon. The other road would veer to the right and lead down west of the Jordan to Jerusalem.
  2. Ezekiel 21:21 tn Heb “mother.”
  3. Ezekiel 21:21 sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.
  4. Ezekiel 21:21 tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).
  5. Ezekiel 21:21 tn Heb “sees.”
  6. Ezekiel 21:21 tn Heb “the liver.”
  7. Ezekiel 21:22 tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.
  8. Ezekiel 21:22 tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.
  9. Ezekiel 21:22 tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”
  10. Ezekiel 21:23 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. Ezekiel 21:23 sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).
  12. Ezekiel 21:23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. Ezekiel 21:23 tn Or “iniquity.”
  14. Ezekiel 21:23 tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt to be captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18), thus justifying their capture.
  15. Ezekiel 21:24 tn Heb “caused to be remembered.”
  16. Ezekiel 21:24 tn Heb “Because you have brought to remembrance your guilt when your transgressions are uncovered so that your sins are revealed in all your deeds—because you are remembered, by the hand you will be seized.”
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Ezekiel 21:18-24
World English Bible

18 Yahweh’s word came to me again, saying, 19 “Also, you son of man, appoint two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. They both will come out of one land, and mark out a place. Mark it out at the head of the way to the city. 20 You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified. 21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shook the arrows back and forth. He consulted the teraphim.[a] He looked in the liver. 22 In his right hand was the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, and to build forts. 23 It will be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.

24 “Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Because you have caused your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you will be taken with the hand.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:21 teraphim were household idols that may have been associated with inheritance rights to the household property.
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