Ezekiel 21:1

CHAPTER XXI

The prophet goes on to denounce the fate of Jerusalem and

Judea; using signs of vehement grief, to denote the greatness

of the calamity, 2-7.

He then changes the emblem to that of a sharp and bright sword,

still denoting the same sad event, 8-17;

and, becoming yet more explicit, he represents the king of

Babylon, who was to be employed by God in this work, as setting

out to take vengeance on both the Jews and the Ammonites, for

joining with Egypt in a confederacy against him. He is

described as standing at the parting of the roads leading to

the respective capitals of the Jews and Ammonites; and doubting

which to attack first, he commits the decision of the matter to

his arts of divination, performed by mingling arrows inscribed

with the names of the different nations or cities, and then

marching against that whose name was written on the arrow first

drawn from the quiver. In this case the name Jerusalem comes

forward; and therefore he proceeds against it, 18-24.

History itself could scarcely be more explicit than this

prophecy. The profane prince Zedekiah as then declared to be

given up by God, and his kingdom devoted to utter destruction,

for that breach of oath of which the prophet foretells he

should be guilty, 25-27.

The remaining verses form a distinct prophecy relating to the

destruction of the Ammonites, which was fulfilled about five

years after the destruction of Jerusalem, 28-32.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXI