TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Ezekiel 4:9–17. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
The best exposition of this part of Ezekiel's prediction of Jerusalem's desolation is Jeremiah's lamentation of it, Lam 4:3, Lam 4:4, etc., and Lam 4:10, where he pathetically describes the terrible famine that was in Jerusalem during the siege and the sad effects of it.
I.The prophet here, to affect the people with the foresight of it, must confine himself for 390 days to coarse fare and short commons, and that ill-dressed, for they should want both food and fuel.
1.His meat, for the quality of it, was to be of the worst bread, made of but little wheat and barley, and the rest of beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, such as we feed horses or fatted hogs with, and this mixed, as mill corn, or as that in the beggar's bag, that has a dish full of one sort of corn at one house and of another at another house; of such corn as this must the prophet's bread be made while he underwent the fatigue of lying on his side, and needed something better to support him, Eze 4:9. Note, It is our wisdom not to be too fond of dainties and pleasant bread, because we know not what hard meat we may be tied to, nay, and may be glad of, before we die. The meanest sort of food is better than we deserve, and therefore must not be despised nor wasted, nor must those that use it be looked upon with disdain, because we know not what may be our own lot.
2.For the quantity of it, it was to be of the least that a man could be kept alive with, to signify that the besieged should be reduced to short allowance and should hold out till all the bread in the city was spent, Jer 37:21. The prophet must eat but twenty shekels' weight of bread a day (Eze 4:10), that was about ten ounces; and he must drink but the sixth part of a hin of water, that was half a pint, about eight ounces, Eze 4:11. The stint of the Lessian diet is fourteen ounces of meat and sixteen of drink. The prophet in Babylon had bread enough and to spare, and was by the river side, where there was plenty of water; and yet, that he might confirm his own prediction and be a sign to the children of Israel, God obliges him to live thus sparingly, and he submits to it. Note, God's servants must learn to endure hardness, and to deny themselves the use of lawful delights, when they may thereby serve the glory of God, evidence the sincerity of their faith, and express their sympathy with their brethren in affliction. The body must be kept under and brought into subjection. Nature is content with a little, grace with less, but lust with nothing. It is good to stint ourselves of choice, that we may the better bear it if ever we should come to be stinted by necessity. And in times of public distress and calamity it ill becomes us to make much of ourselves, as those that drank wine in bowls and were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, Amo 6:4-6.
3.For the dressing of it, he must bake it with a man's dung (Eze 4:12); that must be dried, and serve for fuel to heat his oven with. The thought of it would almost turn one's stomach; yet the coarse bread, thus baked, he must eat as barley-cakes, as freely as if it were the same bread he had been used to. This nauseous piece of cookery he must exercise publicly in their sight, that they might be the more affected with the calamity approaching, which was signified by it, that in the extremity of the famine they should not only have nothing that was dainty, but nothing that was cleanly, about them; they must take up with what they could get. To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. This circumstance of the sign, the baking of his bread with man's dung, the prophet with submission humbly desired might be dispensed with (Eze 4:14); it seemed to have in it something of a ceremonial pollution, for there was a law that man's dung should be covered with earth, that God might see no unclean thing in their camp, Deu 23:13, Deu 23:14. And must he go and gather a thing so offensive, and use it in the dressing of his meat in the sight of the people? "Ah! Lord God," says he, "behold, my soul has not been polluted, and I am afraid lest by this it be polluted." Note, The pollution of the soul by sin is what good people dread more than any thing; and yet sometimes tender consciences fear it without cause, and perplex themselves with scruples about lawful things, as the prophet here, who had not yet learned that it is not that which goes into the mouth that defiles the man, Mat 15:11. But observe he does not plead, "Lord, from my youth I have been brought up delicately and have never been used to any thing but what was clean and nice" (and there were those who were so brought up, who in the siege of Jerusalem did embrace dunghills, Lam 4:5), but that he had been brought up conscientiously, and had never eaten any thing that was forbidden by the law, that died of itself or was torn in pieces; and therefore, "Lord, do not put this upon me now." Thus Peter pleaded (Act 10:14), Lord, I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. Note, it will be comfortable to us, when we are reduced to hardships, if our hearts can witness for us that we have always been careful to abstain from sin, even from little sins, and the appearances of evil. Whatever God commands us, we may be sure, is good; but, if we be put upon any thing that we apprehend to be evil, we should argue against it, from this consideration, that hitherto we have preserved our purity - and shall we lose it now? Now, because Ezekiel with a manifest tenderness of conscience made this scruple, God dispensed with him in this matter. Note, Those who have power in their hands should not be rigorous in pressing their commands upon those that are dissatisfied concerning them, yea, though their dissatisfactions be groundless or arising from education and long usage, but should recede from them rather than grieve or offend the weak, or put a stumbling-block before them, in conformity to the example of God's condescension to Ezekiel, though we are sure his authority is incontestable and all his commands are wise and good. God allowed Ezekiel to use cow's dung instead of man's dung, Eze 4:15. This is a tacit reflection upon man, as intimating that he being polluted with sin his filthiness is more nauseous and odious than that of any other creature. How much more abominable and filthy is man! Job 15:16.
II.Now this sign is particularly explained here; it signified,
1.That those who remained in Jerusalem should be brought to extreme misery for want of necessary food. All supplies being cut off by the besiegers, the city would soon find the want of the country, for the king himself is served of the field; and thus the staff of bread would be broken in Jerusalem, Eze 4:16. God would not only take away from the bread its power to nourish, so that they should eat and not be satisfied (Lev 26:26), but would take away the bread itself (Isa 3:1), so that what little remained should be eaten by weight, so much a day, so much a head, that they might have an equal share and might make it last as long as possible. But to what purpose, when they could not make it last always, and the besieged must be tired out before the besiegers? They should eat and drink with care, to make it go as far as might be, and with astonishment, when they saw it almost spent and knew not which way to look for a recruit. They should be astonished one with another; whereas it is ordinarily some alleviation of a calamity to have others share with us in it (Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris), and some ease to the spirit to complain of the burden, it should be an aggravation of the misery that it was universal, and their complaining to one another should but make them all the more uneasy and increase the astonishment. And the event shall be as bad as their fears; they cannot make it worse than it is, for they shall consume away for their iniquity; multitudes of them shall die of famine, a lingering death, worse than that by the sword (Lam 4:9); they shall dies so as to feel themselves die. And it is sin that brings all this misery upon them: They shall consume away in their iniquity (so it may be read); they shall continue hardened and impenitent, and shall die in their sins, which is more miserable than to die on a dunghill. Now,
(1.)Let us see here what woeful work sin makes with a people, and acknowledge the righteousness of God herein. Time was when Jerusalem was filled with the finest of the wheat (Psa 147:14); but now it would be glad of the coarsest, and cannot have it. Fulness of bread, as it was one of Jerusalem's mercies, so it had become one of her sins, Eze 16:49. The plenty was abused to luxury and excess, which were therefore thus justly punished with famine. It is a righteous thing with God to deprive us of those enjoyments which we have made the food and fuel of our lusts.
(2.)Let us see what reason we have to bless God for plenty, not only for the fruits of the earth, but for the freedom of commerce, that the husbandman can have money for his bread and the tradesman bread for his money, that there is abundance not only in the field, but in the market, that those who live in cities and great towns, though they sow not, neither do they reap, are yet fed from day to day with food convenient.
2.It signified that those who were carried into captivity should be forced to eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles (Eze 4:13), to eat meat made up by Gentile hands otherwise than according to the law of the Jewish church, which they were always taught to call defiled, and which they would have as great an aversion to as a man would have to bread prepared with dung, that is (as perhaps it may be understood) kneaded and moulded with dung. Daniel and his fellows confined themselves to pulse and water, rather than they would eat the portion of the king's meat assigned them, because they apprehended it would defile them, Dan 1:8. Or they should be forced to eat putrid meat, such as their oppressors would allow them in their slavery, and such as formerly they would have scorned to touch. Because they served not God with cheerfulness in the abundance of all things, God will make them serve their enemies in the want of all things.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
One surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.
(Vrs. 9 ff.) And you will take for yourself wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt; and you will put them into one vessel, and you will make for yourself breads according to the number of days on which you will sleep on your side: three hundred and ninety days you will eat it. But your food that you will eat will be in the weight of twenty shekels a day: from time to time you will eat it. And you will drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from time to time you will drink it. And you shall eat it as barely bread, and cover it with human excrement in their sight. What vice we have interpreted as, which in Hebrew is called Chasamim (): The Seventy and Theodotion placed ὄλυραν, which some interpret as oats, others as millet. But the first edition of Aquila and Symmachus interpreted it as ζέας, or ζείας: which we call either far or spelt in the native language of Italy and Pannonia. They also added pottery to the vase, but the prophet orders a future famine and demonstrates the shortage of the people of Israel. Just as in a scarcity of all things, different types of food and delicacies are not sought after; but rather how the stomach can be filled: thus the prophet now puts wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and oats into one vessel, and makes three hundred and ninety loaves of bread, which will be eaten each day: these loaves weigh twenty sicles, that is, staters. However, a siclus, that is, a stater, has four drachmas. And eight drachmas make one Latin ounce: so that one loaf of bread is said to have ten ounces, by which the soul is more drawn than sustained. The sterility of food is increased by the sterility of water. For it is commanded to drink the sixth part of the Hebrew measure, which is called hin, each day. Furthermore, two chœnixes Attic make one hin: which we can call two Italian sextarii, so that the hin is the measure of the Jewish sextarius and our military, the sixth part of which makes a third part of the Italian sextarius. Food and drink, according to the famous Speaker, not only give strength but also prevent death. What he says, 'From time to time you will eat or drink,' means from evening to evening, although some may mistakenly understand it as from year to year. And these loaves are made like barley bread made with ashes. And it is said to him, that he cover them with human dung, not for those who will eat them (ignorance is accustomed to temper miseries) but for those who see, and in their eyes, to experience horror before enduring nausea. It is also to be noted that, according to the number of days of the left side, three hundred and ninety sub-cinereous loaves are to be made and eaten each day, and there is to be no mention at all of the forty loaves of the right side; so that the holy Scripture may secretly hint that the punishment of the people who have sinned is not the same if they have knowledge of God and of him who has completely departed from the true religion. Furthermore, we can also say, according to spiritual understanding, that the Jewish people, after offending God, still eat sub-cinereous loaves mixed with wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and oats; of which one is the food of men and the other is the food of animals. For in that which they appear to believe in one God, they have something of grain. But what they deny the Son, they are sustained by the barley of animals and beans, by which the stomach of those who eat is inflated, and the mind is said to be oppressed: so much so that even to Pythagoreans, the food is detestable. Because of lentils, Esau lost his birthright (Gen. 25). Millet is the food of peasants, and of wild animals, and of birds. Oats, or vetches and alsike clover, are the food of dumb animals. But what is written, according to the Septuagint, that Elijah fleeing from Jezebel found bread ὀλυρίτην, made of ashes (3 Kings 19), is a sign of persecution and scarcity. Therefore, he is also fed by the ravens, so that because he did not find food in Israel, he would be nourished by unclean foods from the nations. The law itself, which they read but do not understand, is bread made of ashes and covered with human excrement. Therefore, the apostle Paul also says that he considered the gains of the Law and the observance of the former ceremonies as dung, in order to gain Christ (Philippians 3).
Continue studying Ezekiel 4:9 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
Summary
Ezekiel 4:9 presents a divine directive to the prophet Ezekiel, commanding him to prepare a unique and meager bread from a specific combination of grains and legumes, which he was to consume for 390 days while lying on his side. This highly symbolic and physically demanding act served as a vivid prophetic sign, illustrating the severe famine, scarcity, and ritual defilement that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would endure during the impending Babylonian siege, thereby impressing upon the exiled Israelites the certainty and dire nature of God's judgment.
Context
Literary Context
Ezekiel 4 initiates a profound series of symbolic actions commanded by God, designed to communicate the unwavering certainty and devastating severity of Jerusalem's impending judgment to a skeptical audience of exiles in Babylon. Immediately preceding this verse, God instructs Ezekiel to lie on his side for a prolonged period—390 days for the iniquity of Israel and 40 days for the iniquity of Judah—symbolically bearing the punishment for their sins (Ezekiel 4:4-6). Within this context, Ezekiel 4:9 specifies the prophet's diet during this arduous period. The unusual, mixed bread, further emphasized by the subsequent instruction to bake it over human dung (mercifully substituted with animal dung in Ezekiel 4:12-15), graphically portrays the dire conditions of siege-induced famine and the ritual impurity that would befall the people. This specific dietary command directly sets the stage for God's explicit declaration of the breaking of the "staff of bread" and the widespread famine in Ezekiel 4:16-17).
Historical & Cultural Context
The prophet Ezekiel ministered to the Jewish exiles in Babylon following the first major deportation in 597 BC. At this time, Jerusalem had not yet fallen, and many exiles clung to a false sense of security, believing the city to be impregnable and a swift return imminent. The mixture of grains and legumes specified in Ezekiel 4:9—wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and fitches (spelt)—was highly unusual for a daily diet in ancient Israel. While wheat and barley were staple grains, the inclusion of beans, lentils, millet, and spelt typically indicated a diet of extreme necessity, often reserved for animal fodder or emergency sustenance during times of severe scarcity. Combining all these disparate ingredients into a single bread underscored the desperate measures people would resort to during a prolonged siege, where all available foodstuffs, regardless of quality or desirability, would be pooled to prevent starvation. Ezekiel's physically demanding act of lying on one side for over a year, coupled with this bizarre diet, was designed to be culturally shocking and attention-grabbing, forcing the exiles to confront the reality of God's impending judgment.
Key Themes
This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes prevalent throughout the book of Ezekiel. Firstly, it underscores God's Sovereignty in Judgment, demonstrating that the impending famine and siege were not random misfortunes but divinely orchestrated consequences for Israel's persistent idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness. God is meticulously bringing about His righteous decrees. Secondly, the passage highlights the theme of Symbolic Prophecy, where the prophet himself becomes a living, walking parable. Ezekiel's personal hardship and unusual actions serve as a tangible, visceral representation of the suffering the nation would endure, making the abstract concept of judgment concrete and undeniable to the exiles. His body becomes a canvas for divine communication. Thirdly, the mixed grains vividly symbolize Famine and Scarcity, depicting the desperate conditions that would compel Jerusalem's inhabitants to consume any available sustenance, no matter how unpalatable or ritually impure. This theme of severe deprivation and the breaking of the "staff of bread" is further developed and reiterated in passages such as Ezekiel 5:16 and Ezekiel 14:13, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of God's judgment.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
Of uncertain derivation; wheat, whether the grain or the plant. Wheat was the primary and most desirable grain for bread in ancient Israel. Its inclusion here, alongside less desirable grains, emphasizes that even the staple would be mixed with inferior products during the siege, highlighting the extreme scarcity and the loss of quality of life.
Of uncertain derivation; millet. Millet was a coarse grain, often used for animal feed or as a food source for the very poor. Its presence in this bread mixture signifies the desperate measures people would take to survive, consuming anything available, regardless of its usual culinary status or palatability.
From כָּסַם; spelt (from its bristliness as if just shorn). Spelt, often translated as "fitches" or "rye" in older versions, was another less common or desirable grain compared to wheat or barley. Its inclusion further underscores the dire conditions of the impending famine, where a variety of lesser-quality grains and legumes would be combined out of sheer necessity.
Verse Breakdown
"¶ Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches,"
This initial command lists the six distinct ingredients God specifies for Ezekiel's bread. The precise enumeration of these diverse grains and legumes, particularly the inclusion of less common or desirable ones like millet and fitches (spelt), immediately signals a diet of extreme deprivation and necessity rather than choice, setting the somber tone for the coming hardship and the severity of the famine.
"and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof,"
This instruction emphasizes the complete amalgamation of all these ingredients into a single, unified, and likely unappetizing bread. The act of combining them "in one vessel" symbolizes the desperate reality of a siege, where all available food, regardless of its individual quality, type, or customary use, would be indiscriminately pooled together for survival, losing any distinct identity or preference. It speaks to a forced unity in suffering.
"according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof."
This final clause explicitly links the consumption of this meager bread to the duration of Ezekiel's symbolic prostration, specifying a precise period of 390 days. This exact number underscores the divinely ordained nature and fixed timeline of the judgment, signifying the long period of Israel's (the Northern Kingdom's) iniquity that would culminate in the severe conditions of the siege, demonstrating God's meticulous justice and the inescapable nature of the consequences for prolonged rebellion.
Literary Devices
The primary literary device employed in Ezekiel 4:9 is Symbolism and Prophetic Action. Ezekiel himself is transformed into a living parable, his very body and daily actions becoming the medium through which God's message is conveyed. The specific mixture of grains and legumes symbolizes the extreme scarcity, hardship, and ritual defilement that Jerusalem would experience during the prolonged Babylonian siege. The act of eating this meager and unappetizing bread for an extended period is a powerful prophetic action, a tangible and visceral representation of the famine and suffering that the people would inevitably endure. This recurring motif in Ezekiel, where the prophet's personal life and physical suffering embody divine communication, makes the abstract concept of God's judgment intensely concrete and undeniable to the exiled audience. Furthermore, the extraordinary nature of the command, requiring such a prolonged and uncomfortable form of obedience, can be seen as a form of hyperbole, emphasizing the extreme and unprecedented nature of the coming divine judgment.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Ezekiel 4:9 profoundly illustrates God's unwavering justice and His covenant faithfulness in providing clear, even dramatic, warnings to His people regarding the consequences of their persistent rebellion and idolatry. The bizarre and arduous command given to Ezekiel underscores the gravity of Israel's sin, which had reached a point where only such drastic, symbolic acts could adequately convey the impending, unavoidable judgment. This passage reveals a God who is sovereign over historical events, meticulously planning and executing His righteous decrees, even when they involve severe hardship for His chosen people, demonstrating that His holiness demands a just response to sin. Yet, even within the framework of judgment, there is a pastoral intent: to awaken the exiles to the dire reality of their situation, to call them to repentance, and ultimately to affirm God's ultimate control over their destiny, thereby preparing them for a future restoration rooted in His mercy.
Reflection and Application
Ezekiel 4:9 serves as a stark and sobering reminder that God takes sin with utmost seriousness, and that persistent disobedience to His covenant carries real, often painful, consequences. For believers today, it challenges our often-superficial understanding of sin and divine judgment, urging us to delve deeper into the profound holiness of God and His righteous indignation against injustice, idolatry, and spiritual apathy. This passage also highlights the extraordinary and often uncomfortable obedience required of God's servants. Ezekiel's willingness to endure such a humiliating, physically demanding, and publicly scrutinized task for 390 days speaks volumes about his unwavering commitment to God's word, even when it brought personal discomfort and public ridicule. This passage calls us to a critical self-examination: Are we taking sin lightly in our own lives or in our communities? Are we willing to obey God's call, even when it is difficult, unconventional, unpopular, or requires significant personal sacrifice? It encourages us to embrace our role as faithful messengers of God's truth, understanding that sometimes our very lives, choices, and actions can become a powerful, living testimony to His will in a world that desperately needs to hear and see it.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did God command Ezekiel to eat such a strange mixture of grains?
God commanded Ezekiel to consume this specific, humble mixture of grains and legumes (wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and fitches) to symbolically represent the severe famine and extreme scarcity that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would inevitably face during the impending Babylonian siege. This was not a typical or desirable diet but a survival ration, indicating that people would be forced to consume whatever meager provisions they could find, regardless of quality or palatability. The act was a tangible, visceral prophecy, designed to make the abstract concept of a devastating siege and its accompanying starvation concrete for the exiled Israelites, who struggled to believe that Jerusalem, the holy city, could truly fall. This symbolic act is further elaborated and its meaning confirmed in Ezekiel 4:16-17, where God explicitly declares His intention to "break the staff of bread" in Jerusalem, bringing about extreme hunger and distress.
What is the significance of the "three hundred and ninety days" mentioned in the verse?
The "three hundred and ninety days" refers to the precise duration Ezekiel was commanded to lie on his side, eating this meager bread. This period was deeply symbolic, representing the years of Israel's (the Northern Kingdom's) iniquity, with each day symbolizing a year of sin, as explicitly stated in Ezekiel 4:5. This period of judgment for Israel was then followed by 40 days for Judah's iniquity (Ezekiel 4:6). The specificity and precision of this number underscore that the impending judgment was not arbitrary or random but a divinely measured and fixed consequence for centuries of persistent rebellion and unfaithfulness against God's covenant. It emphasizes God's meticulous justice and the inescapable, predetermined nature of the coming judgment upon His people.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
While Ezekiel 4:9 vividly portrays judgment, scarcity, and the consequences of sin, its profound Christ-centered fulfillment points to the ultimate provision and spiritual sustenance found exclusively in Jesus Christ, who perfectly endured and satisfied the ultimate judgment on our behalf. The meager, mixed bread of Ezekiel's prophecy foreshadows humanity's desperate spiritual hunger and the utter inability of any earthly provision or human effort to truly satisfy the soul's deepest needs. In profound contrast, Jesus declares Himself the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35), offering eternal and abundant satisfaction that transcends any physical famine or spiritual emptiness. Just as Ezekiel bore the symbolic burden of Israel's sin and its dire consequences, Christ bore the actual, crushing burden of the world's sin, becoming a curse for us to redeem us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). His suffering on the cross, a period of intense spiritual and physical deprivation, fulfilled the judgment due to humanity, making a way for true spiritual nourishment and abundant, eternal life. The "one vessel" that held Ezekiel's disparate and impure grains can be seen as a faint, imperfect echo of the unity and completeness found in Christ, who gathers all believers—Jew and Gentile—into one body, the Church, breaking down all dividing walls (Ephesians 2:14-16). Through His perfect sacrifice, we are no longer subject to the spiritual famine of sin's consequences but are invited to feast at His table, partaking of His body and blood, where there is always more than enough, and true life is found (Matthew 26:26-28).