Ezekiel4
King James Version · Public Domain
1Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
2And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.
3Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
4Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
5For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
7Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
8And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
9Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
10And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
11Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
12And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
14Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
16Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:
17That they may want bread and water, and be astonished one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Ezekiel 4.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The siege of Jerusalem. (1-8). The famine the inhabitants would suffer. (9-17).
vv1-8
The prophet was to represent the siege of Jerusalem by signs. He was to lie on his left side for a number of days, supposed to be equal to the years from the establishment of idolatry. All that the prophet sets before the children of his people, about the destruction of Jerusalem, is to show that sin is the provoking cause of the ruin of that once flourishing city.
vv9-17
The bread which was Ezekiel's support, was to be made of coarse grain and pulse mixed together, seldom used except in times of urgent scarcity, and of this he was only to take a small quantity. Thus was figured the extremity to which the Jews were to be reduced during the siege and captivity. Ezekiel does not plead, Lord, from my youth I have been brought up delicately, and never used to any thing like this; but that he had been brought up conscientiously, and never had eaten any thing forbidden by the law. It will be comfortable when we are brought to suffer hardships, if our hearts can witness that we have always been careful to keep even from the appearance of evil. See what woful work sin makes, and acknowledge the righteousness of God herein. Their plenty having been abused to luxury and excess, they were justly punished by famine. When men serve not God with cheerfulness in the abundance of all things, God will make them serve their enemies in the want of all things.
Key Words
אַתָּה: thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
אָדָם: ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.)
לָקַח: to take (in the widest variety of applications)
לְבֵנָה: a brick (from the whiteness of the clay)
נָתַן: to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
פָּנִים: the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)
חָקַק: properly, to hack, i.e. engrave (Judges 5:14, to be a scribe simply); by implication, to enact (laws being cut in stone or metal tablets in primitive times) or (gen.) prescribe
עַל: above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
עִיר: a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)
Cross References
Ezekiel 4Explicit biblical precedent for the 'each day for a year' prophetic principle.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Ezekiel's symbolic 'bearing of iniquity' prefigures the ultimate sin-bearer, Jesus Christ.
Supported by JFB
Peter's protest against unclean food mirrors Ezekiel's conscientious plea using almost identical language.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Fulfills the Levitical covenant curse of breaking the 'staff of bread' and eating by weight.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The 'uncovered arm' signifies God baring His holy arm, ready for active judgment.
Supported by JFB
Connects to the earlier divine restriction where 'bands' were figuratively laid on the prophet.
Supported by JFB
Hosea's matching prediction that Israel would eat unclean, defiled food in exile among Gentiles.
Supported by JFB
Calvin highlights that man lives by God's word, not by bread alone, when the staff is broken.
Supported by John Calvin
The actual historical fulfillment of Nebuchadnezzar's building watch-towers and forts against Jerusalem.
Supported by JFB
Law forbidding eating meat torn by beasts, which Ezekiel appeals to as kept from youth.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The legal prohibition against eating anything that dieth of itself, guarding priestly purity.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Levitical law designating stale sacrificial meat as an abomination, which Ezekiel avoided.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The covenant curse of 'consuming away in their iniquity' due to their persistent unfaithfulness.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Demonstrates God's pattern of using prophets to act out symbolic visions and physical parables.
Priestly duty to 'bear the iniquity' of the congregation, aligning with Ezekiel's priestly background.
Poole links Israel's 390 years of apostasy to Jeroboam's establishment of the calf cult.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Repeats the judgment that Jerusalem will eat bread and drink water with astonishment and care.
Parallels the use of 'battering rams' or captains directed against Jerusalem's gates.
Supported by JFB