Ezekiel 21:18

Amplified Bible

The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The word of the Lord came to me:

Hebrew Names Version
The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,

King James Version
The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,

English Standard Version
The word of the Lord came to me again:

New American Standard Bible
And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

New Century Version
The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

World English Bible
The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying,

Geneva Bible (1587)
The worde of the Lorde came vnto mee againe, saying,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The word of the LORD came to me saying,

Legacy Standard Bible
And the word of Yahweh came to me saying,

Berean Standard Bible
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Contemporary English Version
The Lord said:

Complete Jewish Bible
For a test is coming, and what if he rejects the rod again then? He will cease to exist," says Adonai Elohim .

Darby Translation
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

Easy-to-Read Version
The word of the Lord came to me. He said,

George Lamsa Translation
The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Good News Translation
The Lord spoke to me.

Lexham English Bible
And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Literal Translation
And the Word of Jehovah was to me, saying,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The worde of the LORDE came yet vnto me agayne, sayenge:

American Standard Version
The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,

Bible in Basic English
And the word of the Lord came to me again, saying,

JPS Old Testament (1917)
For there is a trial; and what if it contemn even the rod? It shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

King James Version (1611)
The word of the Lord came vnto me againe, saying,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
The worde of the Lorde came yet vnto me agayne, saying:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

English Revised Version
The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the word of the Lord was maad to me,

Update Bible Version
The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying,

Webster's Bible Translation
The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,

New English Translation
The word of the Lord came to me:

New King James Version
The word of the LORD came to me again, saying:

New Living Translation
Then this message came to me from the Lord :

New Life Bible
The Word of the Lord came to me saying,

New Revised Standard
The word of the Lord came to me:

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then came the word of Yahweh unto me saying:

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Revised Standard Version
The word of the LORD came to me again:

Young's Literal Translation
And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

THE MESSAGE
God 's Message came to me: "Son of man, lay out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take. Start them from the same place. Place a signpost at the beginning of each road. Post one sign to mark the road of the sword to Rabbah of the Ammonites. Post the other to mark the road to Judah and Fort Jerusalem. The king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road and he decides by divination which of the two roads to take. He draws straws, he throws god-dice, he examines a goat liver. He opens his right hand: The omen says, ‘Head for Jerusalem!' So he's on his way with battering rams, roused to kill, sounding the battle cry, pounding down city gates, building siege works.

Contextual Overview

¹⁸The word of the LORD came to me, saying,¹⁹"As for you, son of man, mark out two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost; place it at the head of the way to the city. ²⁰"You shall point out a way for the [Babylonian] sword to come to Rabbah [the capital] of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into fortified Jerusalem. ²¹"For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the fork of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows, he consults the teraphim (household idols), he looks at the liver [of an animal for an omen]. ²²"In his right hand is the lot marked for Jerusalem: to set battering rams, to open the mouth calling for destruction, to lift up the voice with a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to put up assault ramps, and to build siege walls. ²³"It will seem like a false divination in their eyes, those who have sworn solemn oaths [of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar]. But he will remind them of their guilt [by rebelling and violating their oath], that they may be caught. ²⁴"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have caused your guilt to be remembered, in that your rebellion is uncovered, so that your sins appear in everything that you do—because you have come to mind, you will be seized with the hand [of the enemy]. ²⁵'And you, O dishonored and wicked one [Zedekiah], the prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of final punishment is here,' ²⁶thus says the Lord GOD, 'Remove the turban and take off the crown; things shall not remain as they have been. Exalt that which is low and abase the high. ²⁷'A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! It shall no longer exist until He comes whose right it is [to reign], and I will give it to Him.'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 16:10
Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."

Genesis 17:20
"As for Ishmael, I have heard and listened to you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will greatly multiply him [through his descendants]. He will be the father of twelve princes (chieftains, sheiks), and I will make him a great nation.

Genesis 21:12
God said to Abraham, "Do not let it distress you because of Ishmael and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her and do what she asks, for your descendants will be named through Isaac.

Genesis 21:13
"And I will also make a nation of [Ishmael] the son of the maid, because he is your descendant."

Genesis 21:18
"Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation."

Genesis 21:29
and Abimelech said to Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart?"

Genesis 21:31
Therefore that place was called Beersheba (Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), because there the two of them swore an oath.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The word of the Lord came unto me again,.... Immediately after the former; for this respects the same prophecy about the sword, and the way of its coming, and the cause of it:

saying; as follows:

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The third word of judgment. The king of Babylon’s march upon Judaea and upon the Ammonites. Destruction is to go forth not on Judah only, but also on such neighboring tribes as the Ammonites (compare Jeremiah 27:2-3).

Ezekiel 21:19

Appoint thee - Set before thee.

Choose thou a place, choose it - Rather, “mark a spot, mark it,” as upon a map, at the head of the two roads, one leading to Jerusalem, the other to Ammon. These were the two roads by one or other of which an invading army must march from Babylon to Egypt.

Ezekiel 21:21

The Chaldaean king is depicted standing at the entrance of the holy land from the north, meditating his campaign, using rites of divination that really belonged to the Akkadians, a primitive race which originally occupied the plains of Mesopotamia. The Accadians and the Etruscans belong through the Finnish family to the Turanian stock; this passage therefore shows a characteristic mode of divination in use among two widely separated nations; and as the Romans acquired their divination from the conquered Etruscans, so the Chaldaeans acquired the same art from the races whose soil they had occupied as conquerors.

He made his arrows briqht - Rather, he shook his arrow; a mode of divination much in practice with the Arabians. It was usual to place in some vessel three arrows, on one of which was written, “My God orders me;” on the other, “My God forbids me;” on the third was no inscription. These three arrows were shaken together until one came out; if it was the first, the thing was to be done; if the second, it was to be avoided; if the third, the arrows were again shaken together, until one of the arrows bearing a decided answer should come forth.

Images - Teraphim (Genesis 31:19 note).

He looked in the liver - It was the practice both of the Greeks and the Romans (derived from the Etruscans) to take omens from the inspection of the entrails (especially the liver) of animals offered in sacrifice.

Ezekiel 21:22

The divination for Jerusalem - The lot fixing the campaign against Jerusalem.

Ezekiel 21:23

It shalt be unto them - The Jews in their vain confidence shall look upon the hopes gathered from the divinations by the Babylonians as false and groundless.

To them that have sworn oaths - According to some, “oaths of oaths are theirs;” i. e., they have the most solemn oaths sworn by God to His people, in these they trust, forgetful of the sin which broke the condition upon which these promises were given. More probably the allusion is to the oaths which the Jews had sworn to Nebuchadnezzar as vassals Ezekiel 17:18-19; therefore they trust he will not attack them, forgetting how imperfectly they had kept their oaths, and that Nebuchadnezzar knew this.

But he will call to remembrance the iniquity - The king of Babylon will by punishment remind them of their perjury 2 Kings 25:6-7; 2 Chronicles 36:17.

Ezekiel 21:25

Profane - Rather, “wounded,” - not dead but - having a death-wound. The prophet, turning from the general crowd, addresses Zedekiah.

When iniquity shall have an end - i. e., at the time when iniquity shall be closed with punishment. So in Ezekiel 21:29.

Ezekiel 21:26

The diadem (“the mitre,” the unique head-dress of the high priest) shall be removed, and the crown taken off (this shall not be as it is), the low exalted, and the high abased. Glory shall be removed alike from priest and king; the present glory and power attached to the government of God’s people shall be quite removed.

Ezekiel 21:27

It shall be no more - Or, “This also shall not be;” the present state of things shall not continue: all shall be confusion “until He come” to whom the dominion belongs of right. Not Zedekiah but Jeconiah and his descendants were the rightful heirs of David’s throne. Through the restoration of the true line was there hope for Judah (compare Genesis 49:10), the promised King in whom all power shall rest - the Son of David - Messiah the Prince. Thus the prophecy of destruction ends for Judah in the promise of restoration (as in Ezekiel 20:40 ff).

Ezekiel 21:28

The burden of the Song of the Sword, also in the form of poetry, is again taken up, directed now against the Ammonites, who, exulting in Judah’s destruction, fondly deemed that they were themselves to escape. For Judah there is yet hope, for Ammon irremediable ruin.

Their reproach - The scorn with which they reproach Judah (marginal references).

The sword ... the glittering - Or, “the sword is drawn for the slaughter; it is furbished that it may detour, in order that it may glitter.” In the Septuagint (and Vulgate) the sword is addressed; e. g., Septuagint, “Arise that thou mayest shine.”

Ezekiel 21:29

Whiles ... unto thee - A parenthesis. The Ammonites had their false diviners who deluded with vain hopes.

To bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain - To cast thee (Ammon) upon the heap of slaughtered men.

Shall have an end - Shall have its final doom.

Ezekiel 21:30

Shall I cause it to return ... - Or, Back to its sheath! The work of the sword is over.