21:2 set your face toward Jerusalem Ezekiel’s customary way to indicate the recipient of his oracle (see note on 20:46).

the sanctuaries The Hebrew word used here, miqdash, is usually singular and refers to the Jerusalem temple; however, in this verse it is plural in most Hebrew manuscripts. If the plural was intended, Ezekiel likely is pronouncing judgment on the many local shrines used for idol worship in the area. Alternatively, the text could be “their sanctuary,” as read by the Syriac ot and a few Hebrew manuscripts.

the land of Israel One of Ezekiel’s characteristic phrases for referring to the people of Israel (see note on 7:2).

21:3 my sword The imagery of vv. 1–32 is structured as three separate oracles linked by a catchword, “sword.” The association of fire and sword in judgment is also found in 5:1–4.

the righteous and the wicked A figure of speech (called a merism) indicating judgment against everyone.

21:4 from south to north Represents the righteous and the wicked. The judgment by sword follows the pattern of judgment by fire in 20:47–48.

21:5 they will know, all creatures, that I, Yahweh Compare 20:48.

21:7 the report, for it is coming Refers to the coming judgment, the Day of Yahweh from 7:5–6. Ezekiel is outwardly mourning for events that have not yet occurred.

all hands will hang limp Echoes the reaction in 7:17.

21:9 a sword is sharpened and is also polished The sword is made ready for Yahweh’s use in judgment.

21:10 to slaughter a slaughter, polished to flash like lightning The connection between the sword and the flash of lightning may be based on a Babylonian literary motif. The Akkadian sign for “sword” and “lightning” are the same. A Babylonian poem also depicts a divine destroyer identified as both “torch” (compare 20:45–49) and “sword” (see vv. 1–7).

21:12 the princes of Israel Ezekiel is lamenting the death of the royal house of David (see 2 Kgs 25:6–7).

therefore strike your thigh A gesture of mourning and lament (compare Jer 31:19).

21:14 clap your hands Suggests the prophet was acting out his prophecy in some way (compare Ezek 6:11 and 5:1–2, where Ezekiel uses a sword in his sign-act).

21:16 Gather together, strike to the right Like in v. 14, this implies that Ezekiel is miming the actions described here: brandishing a sharp sword, cutting both directions, and acting out the judgment to come..

21:19 mark out for yourself two roads Possibly another sign-act; he may have created a model highway with two paths for the king to choose between, complete with road signs describing where each path leads.

the sword of the king of Babylon The sword of divine judgment is revealed as the sword of the king of Babylon.

the head of the road of The sign indicates one route leading to Rabbah and another leading to Jerusalem.

21:20 to Rabbah of the Ammonites Rabbah was the capital of Ammon, Judah’s neighbor to the northeast. Ancient Rabbah is in the middle of modern Amman in Jordan.

21:21 to practice divination Ezekiel depicts Nebuchadnezzar standing at a fork in the road and resorting to divination to decide which path to choose. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar was in his headquarters at Riblah (in northern Syria), where he kept a base of operations during campaigns into Syria-Palestine. He uses divination to determine whether to move against Judah or Ammon.

He shakes the arrows A form of divination where one arrow is picked from a group (like drawing straws).

the teraphim Images of dead ancestors. See note on Gen 31:19.

21:22 put up battering rams against gates This verse lists implements of siege warfare, an art which the Assyrians and Babylonians mastered. The siege mound or ramp was used to provide the battering rams with access to the city walls or gates. Siege towers gave archers a higher vantage point to protect the soldiers who were building the siege mound or manning the battering rams. See note on Ezek 4:2.

21:25 prince of Israel A reference to Zedekiah, whose foolish rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar initiated this invasion. Ezekiel never refers to Zedekiah as king (see note on 12:10).

21:26 Remove the turban and lift off the crown Refers to the visible tokens of Zedekiah’s authority. Artistic renderings found in Mesopotamia indicate that crowns in ancient Near Eastern kingdoms more closely resembled turbans. Ezekiel calls on Zedekiah to give up the primary symbol of his power and position.

Exalt the low A reversal similar to 17:24 (compare Matt 23:12).

21:28 to the Ammonites The oracle ends with an assurance to Ammon that, while the first lot fell to Jerusalem for judgment, the sword is still ready and can bring judgment on them.

21:29 seeing a false vision for you Predictions that the Ammonites have escaped judgment are false.

21:30 Return it to its sheath Like a tool that is no longer needed. This image of Babylon as a sword used by Yahweh for judgment echoes the depiction of Assyria in Isa 10:5–19. Now that the tool is no longer needed, it, too, will be judged.

21:32 You will be as fuel for the fire Babylon itself will be judged. The Babylonian Empire would fall to Persia in 539 bc.