Siege of Jerusalem Predicted

“Now you, son of man, (A)get yourself a brick, place it before you, and inscribe a city on it—Jerusalem. Then (B)lay siege against it, build a siege wall, pile up an assault ramp, set up camps, and place battering rams against it all around. Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city, and direct your face toward it so that (C)it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a (D)sign to the house of Israel.

“Then you are to lie down on your left side and put the wrongdoing of the house of Israel on it; you shall (E)bear their wrongdoing for the number of days that you lie on it. For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their wrongdoing, 390 days; so (F)you shall bear the wrongdoing of the house of Israel. When you have completed these days, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the wrongdoing of the house of Judah; I have assigned it to you for forty days, a day for (G)each year. Then you shall direct your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and (H)prophesy against it. Now behold, I will (I)put ropes [a]around you so that you cannot turn from your one side to your other until you have completed the days of your siege.

Defiled Bread

“But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and (J)spelt, and put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, 390 days. 10 Your food which you eat shall be (K)twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time. 11 The water you drink shall be a [b]sixth of a hin by measure; you shall drink it from time to time. 12 You shall eat it as a barley cake, having baked it in their sight over human (L)dung.” 13 Then the Lord said, “In this way the sons of Israel will eat their bread (M)unclean among the nations where I will scatter them.” 14 But I said, “(N)Oh, Lord [c]God! Behold, [d]I have (O)never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what (P)died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has any (Q)unclean meat ever entered my mouth!” 15 Then He said to me, “See, I will give you cow’s dung in place of human dung, so that you may prepare your bread over it.” 16 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to (R)break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by (S)weight and with anxiety, and drink water by (T)measure and in horror, 17 because bread and water will be scarce; and they will tremble with one another and (U)waste away in their guilt.

Notas al pie

  1. Ezekiel 4:8 Lit on
  2. Ezekiel 4:11 About 0.6 qt. or 0.6 liter
  3. Ezekiel 4:14 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  4. Ezekiel 4:14 Lit my soul has

“As for you, human being, take a clay slab, lay it down in front of you, and draw on it the city of Yerushalayim. Show it under siege — build towers against it, raise earthworks against it, set up camps against it, and surround it with battering rams. Then take an iron griddle and put it in place as a wall of iron between yourself and the city, and fix your gaze on it — the city is under siege, and you are the one besieging it. This will be a sign for the house of Isra’el.

“Next, you are to lie on your left side, and have it bear the guilt of the house of Isra’el — for as many days as you lie on your side, you will bear their guilt. For I am assigning you one day for each year of their guilt; thus you are to bear the guilt of the house of Isra’el for 390 days. Then, when you have finished that, you are to lie on your right side and bear the guilt of the house of Y’hudah for forty days, each day corresponding to a year; this is what I am assigning you. You are to fix your gaze on the siege of Yerushalayim, and, with your arm bared, prophesy against it. I am tying you down with ropes, and you are not to turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.

“Take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and buckwheat; put them together in one bowl; and make bread from it. For as long as you lie on your side, 390 days, this is what you are to eat. 10 Each day the food you eat must weigh only three-quarters of a pound; you may eat it from time to time [during the day]. 11 You are also to drink a limited amount of water, two-thirds of a quart; you may drink it from time to time [during the day]. 12 [The bread] you eat is to be baked like barley cakes; you are to bake it before their eyes, using human dung as fuel.” 13 Adonai said, “This is how the people of Isra’el will eat their food — unclean — in the nations where I am driving them.” 14 I objected: “No, Adonai Elohim! I have never defiled myself — from my youth until now I have never eaten anything that died by itself or was killed by wild animals; no such disgusting food has ever entered my mouth.” 15 He answered, “All right, I will give you cow dung to use instead of human dung, and you can prepare your bread on it.”

16 He then said to me, “Human being, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Yerushalayim, so that they will anxiously weigh out bread to eat, and, horrified, ration water to drink. 17 Finally, due to lack of bread and water, they will stare at each other in shock, wasting away because of their guilt.”