Ezekiel 21:19

19 And thou, son of man, set thee two ways, by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come -- out of one land shall they both come -- and make thee a signpost, make it at the head of the way to the city.

Ezekiel 21:19 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 21:19

Also thou, son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword
of the king of Babylon may come
Describe or draw out upon a table or tile, as in ( Ezekiel 4:1 ) , or on the ground, two roads, such as are described in maps; which it may be supposed the king of Babylon would take, either the one or the other, in order to make war against some king or another: both twain shall come forth out of one land;
both ways must be drawn as coming from one country, even Babylon; and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city;
fix upon some spacious place, where Nebuchadnezzar may be supposed to bring his army, as a proper rendezvous for them to muster them in; and let be where two ways meet, that lead to cities, one to one city, and another to another: and it seems that upon the desert of Arabia, through which the king of Babylon came, there was such a place, where two ways met, and one led to Jerusalem, and the other to Rabbath; and this is the place the prophet was to describe, and where in fact Nebuchadnezzar came.

Ezekiel 21:19 In-Context

17 And I myself will smite my hands together, and I will satisfy my fury: I Jehovah have spoken [it].

18 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

19 And thou, son of man, set thee two ways, by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come -- out of one land shall they both come -- and make thee a signpost, make it at the head of the way to the city.

20 Appoint a way for the coming of the sword to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah at the fenced [city] of Jerusalem.

21 For the king of Babylon standeth at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shaketh [his] arrows, he inquireth of the teraphim, he looketh in the liver.

Footnotes

• [a] Lit. 'form (hew out) a hand.'