Ezekiel 21:22

Eze 21:22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint [battering] rams against the gates, to cast a mount, [and] to build a fort.

Ver. 22. To appoint captains.] Heb., Rans; fierce and forward, to lead on their soldiers, let them get off as they could.

To open their mouth.] To storm and take it by an onslaught, and with a general slaughter, non sine barritu militari, vociferatione, et clangore insolenti.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rather, "In his right hand was [is] the divination," that is, he holds up in his right hand the arrow marked with "Jerusalem," to encourage his army to march for it.

captains--The Margin, "battering-rams," adopted by FAIRBAIRN, is less appropriate, for "battering-rams" follow presently after [GROTIUS].

open the mouth in . . . slaughter--that is, commanding slaughter: raising the war cry of death. Not as GESENIUS, "to open the mouth with the war shout."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 22. At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem] He had probably written on two arrows; one, Jerusalem; the other, Riblath; the third, left blank. He drew, and that on which Jerusalem was written came to his hand; in consequence of which he marched immediately against that city. It was ripe for destruction; and had he marched before or after, it would have fallen; but he never considered himself as sure of the conquest till now.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(22) At his right hand was.—This is too exactly literal. The sense is, into his right hand came the divination which determined his course towards Jerusalem. “Captains” should be as in the margin, battering. rams (see Eze_4:2), for the siege of Jerusalem; the same word is so translated farther on in this verse. The remaining clauses portray the operations of the attack.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. at his right hand] in his right hand is the lot (or, oracle) “Jerusalem,” to set battering rams, to open the mouth with a cry. Though “battering rams” occurs again in the verse the word can have no other sense, such as “captains.” The word “cry” seems required by the parallel “shouting;” the letters have probably been transposed. On the apparatus of siege, cf. ch. Eze_4:2.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God,.... Because of their vain confidence, added to their perjury and perfidy:

because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered; their old sins, by committing new ones, both against the Lord, and against the king of Babylon:

in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; both in their religious and civil actions; in the worship of God, and in their covenants and agreements with men; their sins were exposed and manifest to all, not only to God, who was provoked thereby, but to men, to the nations round about; particularly to Nebuchadnezzar, who was enraged by them:

because, I say, that they are come to remembrance; both before the Lord, and the king of Babylon:

ye shall be taken with the hand; as easily as a bird is, when in the snare. The Targum is,

"ye shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon;''

which is no doubt the sense of the passage.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Right of one going by Thapsacus and Damascus, and not through the Desert Arabia, for thus Rabbath would have been to the right. God permitted this divination to succeed in his wrath. The devil pushed the Chaldeans forward, lest the Jews might be converted. (Calmet) --- I they had attacked Rabbath first, they would probably have succeeded, as they did five years after. But the time of vengeance was come for Jerusalem, (Haydock) and they were directed to assault it. (Worthington) --- Voice: the din of war, (Haydock) or of soldiers, trumpets, &c.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Either the divination which concerned Jerusalem was managed on his right hand, that way the arrows were thrown, the images stood, and sacrifices were offered; or else the lot drawn with the right hand of the priest came forth for Jerusalem. The promising lot, encouraging tokens, were those which directed this superstitious, idolatrous kin to attack Jerusalem first, and this by the overruling providence of God, who determined by infinite wisdom what seemed to blind men to be the event designed by their divinations.

To appoint; now Nebuchadnezzar sets all in order pursuant to his observance of the diviners.

Captains; the commanders of his forces, and their particular charges in the march and siege; he did, it is probable, assign them by lot, as is ordinary where greatest dangers attend the charges.

To open the mouth; to assault the city where breaches were made, and storm the battered walls, to slay the defenders, and to run the hazard of being slain by them.

With shouting; so all the barbarous, fierce nations did with shouts and hideous noises assault and fight their enemies, and with this they hoped to terrify and amaze them, and so more easily master them; and so these Babylonians did, as may be collected from Psa 137:7; Jer 51:14, where Babylon shall be repaid her shouts.

Battering rams; engines made to beat down walls; and they had this name from the iron or brass head, which usually was at the end of it, like unto the head of a ram.

Against the gates, which might more easily be broken and beat down.

To cast a mount: in a siege of some length mounts must be raised to offend the besieged by shooting from the tops of them into the city, and to defend the besiegers; and the toil and danger hereof seems here to be cast on both overseers and labourors too by lot.

To build a fort; wooden towers now all these works being thus by lot disposed, the wary tyrant prevents the murmurs of his commanders and soldiers, and insinuates a courage into them by the pretences of assured success, and his idols approving them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. At his right hand, etc. — Rather, in his right hand is the lot Jerusalem, to set battering-rams, etc. The oracle has decided that his siege implements shall be set against Jerusalem instead of Rabbah. The capture of the Ammonite city may come later (Eze_25:4).

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

At his right hand was, etc.; better, into his right hand came, etc.; sc. the arrow marked for Jerusalem was that which came into the king"s hand as the quiver was shaken. To appoint captains; better, battering rams, in both clauses. The same Hebrew word is used in both. (see note on Eze_4:2) The verse paints the engineering operations of the besiegers, following on the issue of the divination. (For the mount, Isa_37:33)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I, too, shall clap My hands I say to you, “Clap your hands one upon the other,” and “I, too,” like you, lament over them, and I “shall clap My hands” one upon the other, but My fury burns within Me, “and I shall give it rest.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.