Ezekiel 4:5-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
5 I allot you three hundred and ninety days[a] during which you must bear the guilt of the house of Israel, the same number of years they sinned. 6 When you have completed this, you shall lie down a second time, on your right side to bear the guilt of the house of Judah forty days; I allot you one day for each year.(A) 7 Turning your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with bared arm[b] you shall prophesy against it.
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- 4:5–6 Three hundred and ninety days…forty days: a symbol to represent the respective lengths of exile for the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Israel had already fallen to Assyria in 722/721 B.C. The numerical value of the Hebrew consonants in the phrase translated “the days of your siege” (v. 8) is three hundred and ninety. Forty years conventionally represents one generation.
- 4:7 Bared arm: a symbol of unrestrained power.
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