Bible Strands
Ezekiel 21:20
Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh instructs Ezekiel to designate two military routes for the Babylonian king’s sword, one targeting Rabbah of the Ammonites and the other targeting fortified Jerusalem. This command occurs within a prophetic vision at a road junction where the king pauses to seek an omen.
The words — דֶּרֶךְ (De.rekh) literally means a road or path, while חֶרֶב (Che.rev) denotes a sword, anchoring the prophecy in tangible military logistics.
The thread — The threat against Rabbah of the Ammonites appears again in Jeremiah 49:2 and Amos 1:14, where the same city faces declared destruction.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that military movements follow a predetermined course. It demands attention to how prophetic markers align with historical events.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
Cross-references
- 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. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD.
- 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.
- 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.)
- 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.’
- Psalms 48:12 March around Zion, encircle her, count her towers,
- Psalms 125:1 A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.
- 2 Samuel 5:9 So 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 Samuel 12:26 Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
- 2 Chronicles 26:9 Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, the Valley Gate, and the angle in the wall, and he fortified them.
- 2 Chronicles 32:5 Then 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.