Ezekiel 4:9-17
World English Bible
9 “Take for yourself also wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel. Make bread of it. According to the number of the days that you will lie on your side, even three hundred ninety days, you shall eat of it. 10 Your food which you shall eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels[a] a day. From time to time you shall eat it. 11 You shall drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin.[b] From time to time you shall drink. 12 You shall eat it as barley cakes, and you shall bake it in their sight with dung that comes out of man.” 13 Yahweh said, “Even thus will the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.”
14 Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn of animals. No abominable meat has come into my mouth!”
15 Then he said to me, “Behold, I have given you cow’s dung for man’s dung, and you shall prepare your bread on it.”
16 Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness. They will drink water by measure, and in dismay; 17 that they may lack bread and water, be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.
Read full chapter
Ezekiel 4:9-17
International Standard Version
Ezekiel’s Menu
9 “Furthermore, you are to take some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and mix them together in one container. Then you are to make bread from these grains sufficient to supply you through the time during which you’ll be sleeping on your side. You are to eat it for 390 days. 10 The food that you’ll be eating is to consist of portions weighing 20 shekels,[a] to be consumed daily at regular intervals.[b] 11 You are to measure one sixth of one hin[c] of water each time you drink it. 12 You are to eat it as barley cakes and bake it right in front of them, using dried human dung for cooking fuel.”[d]
13 Then the Lord said, “This is how the Israelis will be eating unclean food among the nations, where I’ll be sending them.”
14 “Now, Lord God,” I replied, “I’ve never been defiled, ever since I was young until now. I haven’t eaten an animal that died on its own or was torn by beasts, and no unclean meat has ever entered my mouth!”
15 “Very well,” he responded. “I’ll allow you to substitute cow’s dung for human dung. Cook your food[e] over that.”
16 He also told me, “Son of Man, look! I’m about to disrupt the source[f] of bread in Jerusalem. As a result, they’ll ration bread by weight while their terror continues to grow and they’ll ration drinking water while their horror continues to mount! 17 Indeed, they’ll need bread and water, but everyone will be panic-stricken as they waste away in their iniquity.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 4:10 I.e. about eight ounces; a shekel weighed about 0.4 ounces
- Ezekiel 4:10 Lit. it from time to time
- Ezekiel 4:11 I.e. about a pint and a half
- Ezekiel 4:12 The Heb. lacks for cooking fuel
- Ezekiel 4:15 Lit. bread
- Ezekiel 4:16 Lit. staff
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
