Ezekiel 13:9

13:9 My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council ¹  of my people, nor be written in the registry ²  of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

Ezekiel 21:21

21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork ³  in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: ⁴  He shakes arrows, he consults idols, ⁵  he examines ⁶  animal livers. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 21:29

21:29 while seeing false visions for you

and reading lying omens for you ⁸  –

to place that sword ⁹  on the necks of the profane wicked, ¹⁰ 

whose day has come,

the time of final punishment.

[13:9]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term may refer to the secret council of the Lord (Jer 23:18; Job 15:8), but here it more likely refers to a human council comprised of civic leaders (Gen 49:6; Jer 6:11; 15:17 Ps 64:3; 111:1).

[13:9]  ² tn The reference here is probably to a civil list (as in Ezra 2:16; Neh 7:64) rather than to a “book of life” (Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Ps 69:29; Dan 12:1). This registry may have been established at the making of David’s census (2 Sam 24:2, 9).

[21:21]  ³ tn Heb “mother.”

[21:21]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).

[21:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “sees.”

[21:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “the liver.”

[21:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the seeing concerning you falsehood, in divining concerning you a lie.” This probably refers to the attempts of the Ammonites to ward off judgment through prophetic visions and divination.

[21:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “you”; the referent (the sword mentioned in v. 28) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:29]  ⁷ sn The second half of the verse appears to state that the sword of judgment would fall upon the wicked, despite their efforts to prevent it.