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Ezekiel 21:20

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 21:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
Ezekiel 21:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 21

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17I will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Jehovah, have spoken it.
18The word of Jehovah came unto me again, saying,
19Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they twain shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.
20Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
21For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.
22In his right hand was the divination [for] Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.
23And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths unto them; but he bringeth iniquity to remembrance, that they may be taken.
← Ezekiel 21:19Ezekiel 21:21 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Appoint a way, &c.] Mark out a way, describe a road, draw one out upon the ground, or point out one upon a table, or tile: that the sword may come; in which the sword will come; or those that kill with the sword, as the Targum, even the Chaldean army under Nebuchadnezzar: to Rabbath of the Ammonites; which was the metropolis of the Ammonites, and is now called Philadelphia, as Jerom writes; it is so called, to distinguish it from others of the same name; (see <101226>2 Samuel 12:26): and to Judah in Jerusalem, the defenced city; which was so both by nature and art; it had mountains round about it, and had been fortified by several kings from the time of David, as Solomon, Hezekiah, and…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Rabbath of the Ammonites--distinct from Rabbah in Judah (Sa2 12:26). Rabbath is put first, as it was from her that Jerusalem, that doomed city, had borrowed many of her idols. to Judah in Jerusalem--instead of simply putting "Jerusalem," to imply the sword was to come not merely to Judah, but to its people within Jerusalem, defended though it was; its defenses on which the Jews relied so much would not keep the foe out.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The third word of judgment. The king of Babylon’s march upon Judaea and upon the Ammonites. Destruction is to go forth not on Judah only, but also on such neighboring tribes as the Ammonites (compare Jeremiah 27:2-3). Ezekiel 21:19 Appoint thee - Set before thee. Choose thou a place, choose it - Rather, “mark a spot, mark it,” as upon a map, at the head of the two roads, one leading to Jerusalem, the other to Ammon. These were the two roads by one or other of which an invading army must march from Babylon to Egypt. Ezekiel 21:21 The Chaldaean king is depicted standing at the entrance of the holy land from the north, meditating his campaign, using rites of divination that really belonged to…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“To Judah - The Jews. Ezekiel 21:21”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Rabbath: Eze 25:5; Deu 3:11; Sa2 12:26; Jer 49:2; Amo 1:14, Rabbah the defenced: Sa2 5:9; Ch2 26:9, Ch2 32:5, Ch2 33:14; Psa 48:12, Psa 48:13, Psa 125:1, Psa 125:2; Isa 22:10; Lam 4:12 Ezekiel 21:21”
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Related study paths

Read Ezekiel 21 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification