Discovery BoxEzekiel 3:9 
Context3:9 I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! 1 Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, 2 for they are a rebellious house.”
Ezekiel 21:21
Context21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork 3 in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: 4 He shakes arrows, he consults idols, 5 he examines 6 animal livers. 7
1 tn The Hebrew term translated “diamond” is parallel to “iron” in Jer 17:1. The Hebrew uses two terms which are both translated at times as “flint,” but here one is clearly harder than the other. The translation “diamond” attempts to reflect this distinction in English.
2 tn Heb “of their faces.”
3 tn Heb “mother.”
4 sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.
5 tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).
6 tn Heb “sees.”
7 tn Heb “the liver.”
