Ezekiel 21 · Verse 19

Ezekiel 21:19

Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.
Ezekiel 21:19, King James Version

Ezekiel 21:19 in other translations

BSB“Now you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost where the road branches off to each city.
WEB“Also, you son of man, appoint two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come. They both will come out of one land, and mark out a place. Mark it out at the head of the way to the city.
ASVAlso, 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.
YLT‘And thou, son of man, appoint for thee two ways, for the coming in of the sword of the king of Babylon; from one land they come forth, both of them, and a station prepare thou, at the top of the way of the city prepare it.
DARBYAnd thou, son of man, set thee two ways, by which the sword of the king of Babylon may come — out of one land shall they both come — and make thee a signpost, make it at the head of the way to the city.
BBEAnd you, son of man, have two ways marked out, so that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; let the two of them come out of one land: and let there be a pillar at the top of the road:
WebsterAlso, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both ways shall come forth from one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

What does Ezekiel 21:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. two ways--The king coming from Babylon is represented in the graphic style of Ezekiel as reaching the point where the road branched off in two ways, one leading by the south, by Tadmor or Palmyra, to Rabbath of Ammon, east of Jordan; the other by the north, by Riblah in Syria, to Jerusalem--and hesitating which way to take. Ezekiel is told to "appoint the two ways" (as in Eze 4:1); for Nebuchadnezzar, though knowing no other control but his own will and superstition, had really this path "appointed" for him by the all-ruling God. out of one land--namely, Babylon. choose ... a place--literally, "a hand." So it is translated by Fairbairn, "make a finger-post," namely, at the head of the two ways, the hand post pointing Nebuchadnezzar to the way to Jerusalem as the way he should select. But Maurer rightly supports English Version. Ezekiel is told to "choose the place" where Nebuchadnezzar should do as is described in Eze 21:20, 21; so entirely does God order by the prophet every particular of place and time in the movements of the invader.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 19 Appoint thee two ways - Set off from Babylon, and lay down two ways, either of which thou mayest take; that to the right, which leads to Jerusalem; or that to the left which leads to Rabbath of the Ammonites, Eze 21:20. But why against the Ammonites? Because both they and the Moabites were united with Zedekiah against the Chaldeans, (see Jer 27:3), though they afterwards fought against Judea, Eze 12:6.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ezekiel 21:18-27

By the Spirit of prophecy Ezekiel foresaw Nebuchadnezzar's march from Babylon, which he would determine by divination. The Lord would overturn the government of Judah, till the coming of Him whose right it is. This seems to foretell the overturnings of the Jewish nation to the present day, and the troubles of states and kingdoms, which shall make way for establishing the Messiah's kingdom throughout the earth. The…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 21:18-27 →

Ezekiel 21:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאַתָּ֨הve.'a.Tahand youH859
בֶן\־ven-O son ofH1121
אָדָ֜ם'a.DamhumankindH120
שִׂים\־sim-makeH7760
לְךָ֣\׀le.Khafor yourself
שְׁנַ֣יִםshe.Na.yimtwoH8147
דְּרָכִ֗יםde.ra.KhimroadsH1870
לָבוֹא֙la.Vo'to comeH935
חֶ֣רֶבChe.rev[the] sword ofH2719
מֶֽלֶךְ\־Me.lekh-[the] king ofH4428
בָּבֶ֔לba.VelBabylonH894
מֵאֶ֥רֶץme.'E.retzfrom a landH776
אֶחָ֖ד'e.ChadoneH259
יֵצְא֣וּye.tze.'Uthey will go outH3318
שְׁנֵיהֶ֑םshe.nei.Hemboth of themH8147
וְיָ֣דve.Yadand a monumentH3027
בָּרֵ֔אba.Re'makeH1254
בְּרֹ֥אשׁbe.Roshat [the] beginning ofH7218
דֶּֽרֶךְ\־de.rekh-[the] road ofH1870
עִ֖יר'ira cityH5892
בָּרֵֽא\׃ba.Re'make [it]H1254

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 21:19

  • Jeremiah 1:10

    See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

  • Ezekiel 4:1-3

    Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

  • Ezekiel 5:1-17

    And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4:1-3; 5:1-17; Jer 1:10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 21:18

    The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,

  • Ezekiel 21:19

    Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

  • Ezekiel 21:20

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

Read all of Ezekiel 21

Ezekiel 21:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y tú, hijo del hombre, señálate dos caminos por donde venga la espada del rey de Babilonia: de una misma tierra salgan ambos: y echa mano á la suerte: en el principio del camino de la ciudad lo harás.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et toi, fils d’homme, prophétise, et frappe tes mains l’une contre l’autre, et que les coups de l’épée redoublent jusqu’à la troisième fois; c’est l’épée des tués, l’épée qui a tué le grand, et qui les environne.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und du, Menschensohn, weissage und schlage die Hände zusammen; denn das Schwert, das Schwert der Erschlagenen, wird sich ins Dreifache vervielfältigen; es ist das Schwert des erschlagenen Großen welches sie umkreist.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et tu, fili hominis, pone tibi duas vias, ut veniat gladius regis Babylonis: de terra una egredientur ambæ: et manu capiet conjecturam; in capite viæ civitatis conjiciet.