Yehezkiel 21:21-22

21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork ¹  in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: ²  He shakes arrows, he consults idols, ³  he examines ⁴  animal livers. ⁵  21:22 Into his right hand ⁶  comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal ⁷  for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, ⁸  to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall.

Yehezkiel 24:2

24:2 “Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege ⁹  to Jerusalem ¹⁰  this very day.

[21:21]  ¹ tn Heb “mother.”

[21:21]  ² 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.

[21:21]  ³ tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).

[21:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “sees.”

[21:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “the liver.”

[21:22]  ⁶ tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.

[21:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.

[21:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”

[24:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “lean on, put pressure on.”

[24:2]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.