Ezekiel 4
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
4 And you, son of man, take a tile and lay it before you, and make upon it a drawing of a city, even Jerusalem.
2 And put siege works against it, build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it and set battering rams against it round about.
3 Moreover, take a plate of iron and place it for an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it and it shall be besieged, and you shall press the siege against it. This is a sign to the house of Israel.
4 Then [bound as you are] lie upon your left [and north] side to bear symbolically the iniquity of the house of the ten tribes of Israel upon that side. According to the number of days that you shall lie upon it you shall bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid upon you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, 390 days [representing 390 years]; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6 And when you have fulfilled the days for Israel, lie again, but on your right [and south] side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have appointed you one day for each year.
7 Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and your arm shall be uncovered [ready for battle], and you shall prophesy against [the city].
8 And, behold, I will lay bands upon you and you shall not turn yourself from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.
9 Also take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them into one vessel and make bread of them. According to the number of the days that you shall lie upon your side, 390 days you shall eat of it.
10 And the food you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels or a full half pound a day, to be eaten at a fixed time each day.
11 You shall drink water by measure also, about one quart or the sixth part of a hin; you shall drink at a fixed time each day.
12 And you shall eat your food as barley cakes and you shall bake it with human dung as fuel in the sight of the people.
13 And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations to whom I will drive them.(A)
14 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dies of itself or is torn in pieces; neither did there ever come abominable flesh into my mouth.(B)
15 Then He said to me, Behold, I will let you use cow’s dung instead of human dung, and you shall prepare your food with it.
16 Moreover, He said to me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread [by which life is supported] in Jerusalem; and they shall eat bread rationed by weight and with fearfulness, and they shall drink water rationed by measure and with dismay (silent, speechless grief caused by the impending starvation),(C)
17 In order that they may lack bread and water and look at one another in dismay and waste away [in their punishment] for their iniquity.
Ezekiel 4
King James Version
4 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.
3 Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
8 And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
9 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13 And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
14 Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
16 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:
17 That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
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. 3 And 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. 5 For 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. 6 And 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. 8 And 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. 10 And 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. 11 And water you shall drink (AA)by measure, the sixth part of a hin;[e] from day to day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it (AB)in their sight on human dung.” 13 And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat (AC)their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” 14 Then 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.” 15 Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” 16 Moreover, 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. 17 I 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
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