The Prophet Ezekiel

⭑ Geneva Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 4 -

Thou also sonne of man, take thee a bricke, and lay it before thee, and pourtray vpon it the citie, euen Ierusalem,

And lay siege against it, and builde a fort against it, and cast a mount against it: set the campe also against it, and lay engins of warre against it rounde about.

Moreouer, take an yron pan, and set it for a wall of yron betweene thee and the citie, and direct thy face towarde it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it: this shall be a signe vnto the house of Israel.

Sleepe thou also vpon thy left side, and lay the iniquitie of the house of Israel vpon it: according to the nomber of the dayes, that thou shalt sleepe vpon it, thou shalt beare their iniquity.

For I haue layed vpon thee the yeeres of their iniquitie, according to the nomber of the dayes, euen three hundreth and ninetie dayes: so shalt thou beare the iniquitie of the house of Israel.

And when thou hast accomplished them, sleepe againe vpon thy right side, and thou shalt beare the iniquitie of the house of Iudah fourtie dayes: I haue appointed thee a day for a yeere, euen a day for a yeere.

Therefore thou shalt direct thy face towarde the siege of Ierusalem, and thine arme shalbe vncouered, and thou shalt prophesie against it.

And beholde, I will lay bands vpon thee, and thou shalt not turne thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the dayes of thy siege.

The Defiled Bread

Thou shalt take also vnto thee wheate, and barley, and beanes, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessell, and make thee bread thereof according to the nomber of the dayes, that thou shalt sleepe vpon thy side: euen three hundreth and ninetie dayes shalt thou eate thereof.

And the meate, whereof thou shalt eate, shalbe by weight, euen twenty shekels a day: and from time to time shalt thou eate thereof.

Thou shalt drinke also water by measure, euen the sixt part of an Hin: from time to time shalt thou drinke.

And thou shalt eate it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in the dongue that commeth out of man, in their sight.

And the Lord said, So shall the children of Israel eate their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will cast them.

Then said I, Ah, Lord God, beholde, my soule hath not bene polluted: for from my youth vp, euen vnto this houre, I haue not eaten of a thing dead, or torne in pieces, neither came there any vncleane flesh in my mouth.

Then he said vnto me, Loe, I haue giuen thee bullockes dongue for mans dongue, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.

Moreouer, he said vnto me, Sonne of man, beholde, I will breake the staffe of bread in Ierusalem, and they shall eate bread by weight, and with care, and they shall drinke water by measure, and with astonishment.

Because that bread and water shall faile, they shalbe astonied one with another, and shall consume away for their iniquitie.

“You also, son of man, take a tile, and lay it before yourself, and portray on it a city, even Jerusalem.

Lay siege against it, build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it. Also set camps against it and plant battering rams against it all around.

Take for yourself an iron pan and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city. Then set your face toward it. It will be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

“Moreover lie on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. According to the number of the days that you shall lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity.

For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be to you a number of days, even three hundred ninety days. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

“Again, when you have accomplished these, you shall lie on your right side, and shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have appointed forty days, each day for a year, to you.

You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm uncovered; and you shall prophesy against it.

Behold, I put ropes on you, and you shall not turn yourself from one side to the other, until you have accomplished the days of your siege.

The Defiled Bread

“Take for yourself also wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel. Make bread of it. According to the number of the days that you will lie on your side, even three hundred ninety days, you shall eat of it.

Your food which you shall eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels

(a)

a day. From time to time you shall eat it.

You shall drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin.(b) From time to time you shall drink.

You shall eat it as barley cakes, and you shall bake it in their sight with dung that comes out of man.”

The LORD said, “Even thus will the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.”

Then I said, “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn of animals. No abominable meat has come into my mouth!”

Then he said to me, “Behold, I have given you cow’s dung for man’s dung, and you shall prepare your bread on it.”

Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness. They will drink water by measure, and in dismay;

that they may lack bread and water, be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.

Footnotes

(a)4:10 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.

(b)4:11 A hin is about 6.5 liters or 1.7 gallons.