Text -- Ezekiel 21:21 (NET)

21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: He shakes arrows, he consults idols, he examines animal livers.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Eze 21:21

¹ tn Heb “mother.”

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.

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

⁴ tn Heb “sees.”

⁵ tn Heb “the liver.”