Ezekiel 4

English Standard Version

The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

4 “And you, ^(A)son of man, ^(B)take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. ²^(C)And put siegeworks against it, ^(D)and build a siege wall against it, ^(E)and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, ^(F)and plant battering rams against it all around. ³And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; ^(G)and set your face toward it, ^(H)and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is ^(I)a sign for the house of Israel.

⁴“Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment^[a] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, ^(J)you shall bear their punishment. ⁵For I assign to you a number of days, ^(K)390 days, ^(L)equal to the number of the years of their punishment. ^(M)So long shall you bear ^(N)the punishment of the house of Israel. ⁶And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and ^(O)bear ^(P)the punishment of the house of Judah. ^(Q)Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. ⁷^(R)And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, ^(S)with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. ⁸And behold, ^(T)I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed ^(U)the days of your siege.

⁹“And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,^[b] and put them into a single vessel and make your ^(V)bread from them. ^(W)During the number of days that you lie on your side, ^(X)390 days, you shall eat it. ¹⁰And your food that you eat shall be ^(Y)by weight, ^(Z)twenty shekels^[c] a day; from day to day^[d] you shall eat it. ¹¹And water you shall drink ^(AA)by measure, the sixth part of a hin;^[e] from day to day you shall drink. ¹²And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it ^(AB)in their sight on human dung.” ¹³And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat ^(AC)their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” ¹⁴Then I said, ^(AD)“Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.^[f] ^(AE)From my youth up till now I have never eaten ^(AF)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has ^(AG)tainted meat come into my mouth.” ¹⁵Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” ¹⁶Moreover, he said to me, ^(AH)“Son of man, behold, ^(AI)I will break the supply^[g] of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread ^(AJ)by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water ^(AK)by measure and in dismay. ¹⁷I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and ^(AL)look at one another in dismay, and ^(AM)rot away because of their punishment.

Footnotes

Ezekiel 4:4 Or iniquity; also verses 5, 6, 17
Ezekiel 4:9 A type of wheat
Ezekiel 4:10 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
Ezekiel 4:10 Or at a set time daily; also verse 11
Ezekiel 4:11 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Ezekiel 4:14 Hebrew my soul (or throat) has never been made unclean
Ezekiel 4:16 Hebrew staff

Psalm 40-41

English Standard Version

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40 I ^(A)waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and ^(B)heard my cry.
²He drew me up from ^(C)the pit of destruction,
    out of ^(D)the miry bog,
and ^(E)set my feet upon a rock,
    ^(F)making my steps secure.
³He put ^(G)a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will ^(H)see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

⁴Blessed is the man who ^(I)makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who ^(J)go astray after a lie!
⁵You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your ^(K)wondrous deeds and your ^(L)thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are ^(M)more than can be told.

⁶^(N)In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ^(O)ear.^[a]
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written ^(P)of me:
⁸^(Q)I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is ^(R)within my heart.”

⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance^[b]
    in ^(S)the great congregation;
behold, I have not ^(T)restrained my lips,
    ^(U)as you know, O Lord.
¹⁰I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

¹¹As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your ^(V)steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
¹²For evils have ^(W)encompassed me
    beyond number;
my ^(X)iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot ^(Y)see;
they are ^(Z)more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart ^(AA)fails me.

¹³^(AB)Be pleased, O Lord, to ^(AC)deliver me!
    O Lord, ^(AD)make haste to help me!
¹⁴^(AE)Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be ^(AF)turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
¹⁵Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who ^(AG)say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    ^(AH)say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
¹⁷As for me, I am ^(AI)poor and needy,
    but ^(AJ)the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41 ^(AK)Blessed is the one who considers the poor!^[c]
    ^(AL)In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
²the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you ^(AM)do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
³The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.^[d]

⁴As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^(AN)be gracious to me;
    ^(AO)heal me,^[e] for I have sinned against you!”
⁵My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶And when one comes to see me, ^(AP)he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.^[f]

⁸They say, “A deadly thing is poured out^[g] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹Even my ^(AQ)close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ^(AR)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!

¹¹By this I know that ^(AS)you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹²But ^(AT)you have upheld me because of ^(AU)my integrity,
and ^(AV)set me in your presence ^(AW)forever.