1‘Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.2Then lay siege to it: erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering-rams around it.3Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face towards it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel.4‘Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself.[1] You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side.5I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.6‘After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.7Turn your face towards the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her.8I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.9‘Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side.10Weigh out twenty shekels[2] of food to eat each day and eat it at set times.11Also measure out a sixth of a hin[3] of water and drink it at set times.12Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.’13The Lord said, ‘In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.’14Then I said, ‘Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.’15‘Very well,’ he said, ‘I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.’16He then said to me: ‘Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,17for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of[4] their sin.
Ezekiel 4
English Standard Version
The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized
1“And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. (Jer 13:1; Eze 2:1; Eze 4:3)2And put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. (2Ki 25:1; Eze 17:17; Eze 21:22; Eze 26:8; Eze 26:9; Lu 19:43)3And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. (Isa 8:18; Isa 20:3; Isa 29:3; Eze 12:6; Eze 12:11; Eze 21:2; Eze 24:24; Eze 24:27)4“Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment[1] of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment. (Le 16:22; Isa 53:11; Eze 44:10; Eze 44:12)5For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. (Nu 14:34; Eze 4:4; Eze 4:9; Eze 23:4; Eze 23:9)6And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. (Le 16:22; Nu 14:34; Isa 53:11; Eze 23:11; Eze 44:10; Eze 44:12)7And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. (Isa 52:10; Eze 21:2)8And behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege. (2Ki 25:1; Jer 39:1; Jer 52:4; Eze 3:25; Eze 4:9; Eze 5:2)9“And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,[2] and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it. (1Ki 22:27; Eze 4:5; Eze 4:8)10And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels[3] a day; from day to day[4] you shall eat it. (Jer 37:21; Eze 12:19; Eze 45:12)11And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin;[5] from day to day you shall drink. (Eze 4:10)12And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.” (Eze 12:3)13And the Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” (Da 1:8; Ho 9:3)14Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself.[6] From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth.” (Le 7:18; Le 7:24; Isa 65:4; Eze 9:8; Eze 11:13; Eze 20:49; Eze 44:31; Ac 10:14)15Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow’s dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.”16Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the supply[7] of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. (Le 26:26; Eze 2:1; Eze 4:10; Eze 5:16; Eze 14:13)17I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and rot away because of their punishment. (Le 26:39; Eze 3:15; Eze 24:23; Eze 33:10)