Ezekiel 21:19

19 And thou, son of man, set to thee two ways, (so) that the sword of the king of Babylon (may) come; both shall go out of one land, and by the hand he shall take conjecturing; he shall conjecture in the head of the way of the city (and so carve a signpost, and then place it at the head of the ways to two cities),

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 Certainly and I shall smite with hand to hand (Truly I shall clap my hands), and I shall [ful]fill mine indignation; I the Lord spake.
18 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and he said,
19 And thou, son of man, set to thee two ways, (so) that the sword of the king of Babylon (may) come; both shall go out of one land, and by the hand he shall take conjecturing; he shall conjecture in the head of the way of the city (and so carve a signpost, and then place it at the head of the ways to two cities),
20 setting a way, that the sword come to Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into Jerusalem most strong. (pointing the way, so that the sword come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah into the fortified Jerusalem.)
21 For the king of Babylon stood in the meeting of two ways, in the head of two ways, and sought divining, and meddled arrows; he asked idols, and took counsel at entrails. (For the king of Babylon stood at the meeting of two ways, at the head of two ways, and sought divining, and mixed, or mingled, the arrows; he asked idols, and received counsel, or advice, from entrails.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.