Ezekiel 4:9-17

New International Reader's Version

⁹ “Get some wheat and barley. Also get some beans and lentils. And get some millet and spelt. Put everything in a storage jar. Use it to make some bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days you are lying down on your side. ¹⁰ Weigh out eight ounces of food to eat each day. Eat it at your regular mealtimes. ¹¹ Also measure out two-thirds of a quart of water. Drink it at your regular mealtimes. ¹² Eat your food as you would eat a loaf of barley bread. Bake it over human waste in front of the people.” ¹³ The Lord said, “That is how the people of Israel will eat ‘unclean’ food. They will eat it in the nations where I will drive them.”

¹⁴ Then I said, “No, Lord and King! I won’t do this! I’ve never eaten anything ‘unclean.’ From the time I was young until now, I’ve never eaten anything that was found dead. And I’ve never eaten anything torn apart by wild animals. ‘Unclean’ meat has never entered my mouth.”

¹⁵ “All right,” he said. “I will let you bake your bread over waste from cows. You can use that instead of human waste.”

¹⁶ He continued, “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will be worried as they eat their tiny share of food. They will not have any hope as they drink their tiny share of water. ¹⁷ There will be very little food and water. The people will be shocked as they look at one another. They will become weaker and weaker because of their sin.