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“And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel and make bread for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 The food that you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; at fixed times you shall eat it. 11 And you shall drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; at fixed times you shall drink. 12 You shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.”(A) 13 The Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread, unclean, among the nations to which I will drive them.”(B) 14 Then I said, “Ah Lord God! I have never defiled myself; from my youth up until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has carrion flesh come into my mouth.”(C) 15 Then he said to me, “See, I will let you have cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.”

16 Then he said to me, “Mortal, I am going to cut off the supply of bread[a] in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.(D) 17 Lacking bread and water, they will look at one another in dismay and waste away under their punishment.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 4.16 Heb staff of bread

“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt;(A) put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10 Weigh out twenty shekels[a](B) of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11 Also measure out a sixth of a hin[b] of water and drink it at set times.(C) 12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement(D) for fuel.” 13 The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”(E)

14 Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord!(F) I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead(G) or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.(H)

15 “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

16 He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off(I) the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,(J) 17 for food and water will be scarce.(K) They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of[c] their sin.(L)

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 4:10 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  2. Ezekiel 4:11 That is, about 2/3 quart or about 0.6 liter
  3. Ezekiel 4:17 Or away in