Ezekiel 4

Siege of Jerusalem Predicted

1 "Now you son of man, get yourself a brick, place it before you and inscribe a city on it, Jerusalem.2 Then lay siege against it, build a siege wall, raise up a ramp, pitch camps and place battering rams against it all around.3 Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city, and set your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This is a sign to the house of Israel.

4 "As for you, lie down on your left side and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; you shall bear their iniquity for the number of days that you lie on it.5 For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their iniquity, three hundred and ninety days; thus you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.6 When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah; I have assigned it to you for forty days, a day for each year.7 Then you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it.8 Now behold, I will put ropes on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.

Defiled Bread

9 "But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, 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, three hundred and ninety days.10 Your food which you eat shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time.11 The water you drink shall be the sixth part 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 dung."13 Then the LORD said, "Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them."14 But I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I have never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has any 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 over which you will prepare your bread."16 Moreover, He said to me, "Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror,17 because bread and water will be scarce; and they will be appalled with one another and waste away in their iniquity.

Ezekiel 4

Ominous Object Lessons

1 “And you, son of man, take a bricks and set it in front of you. Inscribet a city on it – Jerusalem.2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege rampt against it! Post soldiers outside itt and station battering rams around it.

3 Then for your part take an iron frying pant and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a signt for the house of Israel.
4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquityt of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity.

5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of dayst for you – 390 days.ss So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.t
6 “When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 dayss – I have assigned one day for each year.7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it.

8 Look here, I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege.s
9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt,s put them in a single container, and make foodt from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 dayss – you will eat it.10 The food you eat will be eight ouncess a day by weight; you must eat it at fixedt times.11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half;s you must drink it at fixed times.12 And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement.”s

13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nationss where I will banish them.”

14 And I said, “Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meatt has never entered my mouth.”

15 So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”
16 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supplyt in Jerusalem.s They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror

17 because they will lack bread and water. Each one will be terrified, and they will rot for their iniquity.t