The King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, is the chosen instrument through whom the drawn and sharpened sword does its judgment work. He is seen in this paragraph using divination, to decide if he should go to Rabbath of the Ammonites or to Judah in Jerusalem. The King is standing at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways. First he used the arrows. The authorized version is faulty in its translation; it is not, "he made his arrows bright," but "he shook his arrows to and fro." The Babylonians used all kinds of enchantments, sorceries, as well as star-gazers, astrologers, etc., to be guided in their undertakings. (See Isa. xlvii:8-15). The King took two arrows and put upon each the name of the two cities mentioned; they were then shaken in the quiver and one was drawn out. He also used images (teraphim) which he consulted and looked into the liver. They generally killed a sheep and imagined that the different lines and formation of the liver gave them directions what to do. In the British Museum there is a Babylonian clay tablet with a sheep's liver covered with all kinds of lines and oracles. In the twenty-second verse we see the result of his divinations. He has pulled out of the quiver the arrow which has on it the word "Jerusalem." And so the siege of Jerusalem was prepared. But the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who heard of the King's divination, branded it as a false divination (verse 23). They still hoped that all attempts made by Nebuchadnezzar would fail. But the hand of God was guiding all, and in the last verse of this paragraph (verse 25) the Lord announces the hopelessness of their expectations. IV. The Wicked Prince and the Coming One. And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him (verses 25-27).