Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Ezekiel 21:20

in Ezekiel 21

Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Thou shalt appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.

KJV

Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.

⋯

This verse in Ezekiel 21

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.

This site's exposition

The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying

on Ezekiel 21:18-20

A new oracle instructs the prophet to appoint thee two ways, a piece of street theater drawing a literal signpost where the road forks, one way leading to Rabbath of the Ammonites and the other to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. The act dramatizes the real military choice Nebuchadnezzar faced when he marched west, whether to strike the Ammonite capital or the walled city of Jerusalem first. Clarke reads the head of the way to the city as the crossroads itself, staged so exiles watching the prophet would see the decision made in miniature before Babylon's army made it in fact.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 18 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: And you, son of man, set before yourself two ways, and let the sword of the king of Babylon come. From one land they will both go out, and by hand he will take a decision: he will cast lots at the head of the city's road. You shall set a road, so that the sword may come to Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah, and to Jerusalem, the fortified.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Appoint a way,....

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • דֶּ֣רֶךְa road

    derekhH1870 →707 times

  • תָּשִׂ֔יםyou will make

    tasimH7760 →584 times

  • לָב֣וֹאto come

    lavo'H935 →2568 times

  • חֶ֔רֶבa sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • אֵ֖ת<obj.>

    ʾetH853 →10935 times

  • רַבַּ֣תRabbah of

    rabatH7237 →

  • בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • עַמּ֑וֹןAmmon

    amonH5983 →106 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • יְהוּדָ֥הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • בִירוּשָׁלִַ֖םin Jerusalem

    virushalimH3389 →643 times

  • בְּצוּרָֽה׃fortified

    betzurahH1219 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Amos 1:14So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest.5 worksJeremiah 49:2Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD.5 worksEzekiel 25:5I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’5 worksDeuteronomy 3:11(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)4 worksPsalms 125:1–2Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.3 worksPsalms 48:12–13March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers,3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Ezekiel 21:28Now prophesy, son of man, and declare that this is what the Lord GOD says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt: ‘A sword! A sword is drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning—3 works2 Samuel 11:1In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.3 works2 Samuel 5:9So David took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built it up all the way around, from the supporting terraces inward.2 works2 Chronicles 32:5Then Hezekiah worked resolutely to rebuild all the broken sections of the wall and to raise up towers on it. He also built an outer wall and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City of David, and he produced an abundance of weapons and shields.2 works2 Chronicles 26:9Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.2 worksIsaiah 22:10You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore them down to strengthen the wall.2 worksLamentations 4:12The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.2 works2 Chronicles 33:14After this, Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David from west of Gihon in the valley to the entrance of the Fish Gate, and he brought it around the hill of Ophel and heightened it considerably. He also stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.2 works2 Samuel 12:26Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.2 worksEzekiel 21:16Slash to the right; set your blade to the left—wherever your blade is directed.2 works1 Chronicles 20:1In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the Ammonites. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it.2 worksJoshua 13:25The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah;2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Ezekiel 25:5

    I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels, and Ammon a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 12:26

      Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 49:2

    Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned.…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 3:11

      (For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Jeremiah 4:19

      My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm…

    • Ezekiel 25:4–6

      therefore I will indeed give you as a possession to the people of the East. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you. They will eat your fruit and drink…

  • Through

    Amos 1:14

    So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 49:2

      Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned.…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Amos 2:2

      So I will send fire against Moab to consume the citadels of Kerioth. Moab will die in tumult, amid war cries and the sound of the ram’s horn.

    • Isaiah 30:30

      And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 3:11

    (For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)

    it leads to

    • Genesis 14:5

      In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

About Ezekiel

The Prophet Ezekiel, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Ezekiel, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Ezekiel: the study guide →Read Ezekiel 21 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in Ezekiel 21 →