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Ezekiel 4

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The Symbolic Siege of Jerusalem 1–3

1
Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem: ​
2
and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about.
3
And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. ​

Bearing the Sins of Israel and Judah 4–8

4
Moreover lie thou 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. ​
5
For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. ​
6
And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee. ​
7
And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it.
8
And, behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to the other, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege. ​

Bread of Famine and Defilement 9–15

9
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, 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, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof. ​
10
And thy food which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it. ​
11
And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
12
And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man. ​
13
And Jehovah said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them. ​
14
Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! 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 of beasts; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. ​
15
Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon. ​

The Severity of the Coming Famine 16–17

16
Moreover 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 fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay: ​
17
that they may want bread and water, and be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Ezekiel 4

Verse 1

take thee a tile — Lebenah is a sun-dried brick, the word of 'let us make brick' (Gen 11:3) and of Egypt's brickmaking (Ex 5:7). 'Pourtray' is chaqaq, to cut in or engrave. The city drawn on the brick is 'Jerusalem', and the acted siege that follows (vv.2–3, 7) is given as 'a sign to the house of Israel' (v.3).

Verse 3

an iron pan — Machavat is a flat baking plate, as in 'a meat offering baken in a pan' (Lev 2:5). Set up as 'a wall of iron' between the prophet and the city, with his face 'set' against it, it is the barrier of the siege. Ezekiel is called a sign to the house of Israel again in Ezek 12:6, 11 and 24:24.

Verse 4

lay the iniquity… upon it — To 'bear… iniquity' (nasa avon) is a priest's office: the priests were given the sin offering 'to bear the iniquity of the congregation' (Lev 10:17), and the goat 'shall bear upon him all their iniquities' (Lev 16:22). Ezekiel is a priest (Ezek 1:3). In Ezek 16:46 Samaria and her daughters are at Jerusalem's 'left hand', Sodom at the 'right hand'.

Verse 5

three hundred and ninety days — The days stand for years: 'I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days'. The reckoning is the rule of Num 14:34, 'each day for a year'. The verb 'bear' (nasa) is the same one as in v.4, and the iniquity borne is that of 'the house of Israel'.

Verse 6

each day for a year — Forty days on the right side stand for the iniquity of 'the house of Judah', by the same rule as Num 14:34, 'forty days, each day for a year… even forty years'. 'I have appointed' is nathan, to give, the verb of 'I have laid' in v.5. The siege-sign thus covers both houses, Israel and Judah.

Verse 8

I will lay bands upon thee — In Ezek 3:25 the bands are put on by 'they'; here the LORD says 'I will lay bands upon thee' (abot, cords). He is held fast 'till thou hast ended the days of thy siege', and the siege (matsor) is the one of vv.3 and 7. Ezek 24:24 says 'Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do'.

Verse 9

wheat, and barley… fitches — Six grains go into 'one vessel'. 'Millet' (dochan) occurs only here; 'fitches' (kussemeth) in two other verses, Ex 9:32 (where it is 'rie') and Isa 28:25. Beans and lentiles are listed with wheat and barley among the provisions brought to David (2 Sam 17:28). The loaf is made for the same 390 days.

Verse 10

by weight, twenty shekels a day — Scripture gives the shekel's size as 'twenty gerahs' (Ex 30:13; Ezek 45:12). Bread 'by weight' (mishqal) is the sign of the Law's famine curse: 'they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied' (Lev 26:26). Ezek 4:16 applies it to Jerusalem.

Verse 12

with dung that cometh out of man — The Law ordered that what 'cometh from thee' be dug in and covered outside the camp, 'that he see no unclean thing in thee' (Deut 23:13–14), so the command to bake with it 'in their sight' is a sign of defilement. In v.15 the fuel is changed.

Verse 13

defiled bread among the Gentiles — The sign is explained: 'Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them'. Hosea said the same, 'they shall eat unclean things in Assyria' (Hos 9:3), and Daniel would not 'defile himself' with the king's food (Dan 1:8).

Verse 14

Ah Lord GOD! — Ahah is the cry of Jer 1:6 and Ezek 9:8. Ezekiel is a priest, and the Law forbade priests 'that which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts' (Lev 22:8). 'Abominable' is piggul, a word found only here, in Isa 65:4 and in Lev 7:18 and 19:7. Peter makes a similar answer, 'I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean' (Acts 10:14).

Verse 15

cow's dung for man's dung — The LORD answers the prayer by changing the fuel: 'Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung'. The verb is nathan, to give, as in vv.5–6. Verse 13 gives the meaning of the sign: 'defiled bread among the Gentiles'.

Verse 16

the staff of bread — The phrase is from the Law's curse, 'when I have broken the staff of your bread' (Lev 26:26); it is also the LORD's act at Ps 105:16, 'he brake the whole staff of bread'. Ezek 5:16 and 14:13 use it again. Bread 'with care' and water 'with astonishment' is repeated in Ezek 12:18–19 for 'the inhabitants of Jerusalem'.

Verse 17

astonied one with another — Shamem, 'astonied', is the word for Ezekiel's own seven days among the exiles (Ezek 3:15). 'Consume away' is maqaq, 'pine away' in Lev 26:39 and in Ezek 24:23 and 33:10. The cause given is 'their iniquity' (avon), the word of vv.4–6.