Ezekiel 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.

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.”

⁶ tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.

⁷ tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.

⁸ tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”