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Thou also, Ben Adam, take thee a levenah (tile, brick), and lay it before thee, and engrave upon it the Ir, even Yerushalayim;

And lay matzor (siege) against it, and erect against it siege works, and build a ramp against it; set the machanot also against it, and set battering rams against it all around.

Moreover take thou unto thee a machavat barzel (iron griddle), and set it for a kir barzel (wall of iron) between thee and the Ir; and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be an ot (sign) to Bais Yisroel.

Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the avon Bais Yisroel upon it; according to the mispar of the yamim that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their avon.

For I have laid upon thee the shanim of their avon (iniquity), according to the mispar (number) of the yamim, three hundred and ninety days; so shalt thou bear the avon Bais Yisroel.

And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the avon Bais Yehudah forty days; I have appointed thee a day for each year.

Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the Matzor Yerushalayim (Siege of Jerusalem), and thine zero’a shall be bared, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

And, hinei, I will tie ropes upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy matzor (siege).

Take thou also unto thee chittin (wheat), and se’orim (barley), and fol (beans), and adosim (lentils), and dochan (millet), and kussemim (spelt), and put them in keli echad, and make thee lechem thereof, according to the mispar of the yamim that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

10 And thy okhel (food) which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time shalt thou eat it.

11 Thou shalt drink also mayim by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

12 And thou shalt eat it as cakes of se’orim, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of ha’adam, in their sight.

13 And Hashem said, Even thus shall the Bnei Yisroel eat their lechem tameh among the Goyim, whither I will drive them.

14 Then said I, Not so Adonoi Hashem! Hinei, my nefesh hath not been made tuma’ah for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten nevelah or trefah; neither came there basar piggul into my mouth.

15 Then He said unto me, Behold, I have given thee cattle dung instead of dung of adam, and thou shalt prepare thy lechem therewith.

16 Moreover He said unto me, Ben Adam, hinei, I will break the mateh lechem (staff of bread, food supply) in Yerushalayim: and they shall eat lechem weighted out in rations, and with worry; and they shall drink mayim by measure, and with amazed alarm:

17 In order that lechem and mayim be scarce, and that every ish and achiv be confounded with shock and rot away because of their avon.

Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized

“Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp(A) up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.(B) Then take an iron pan,(C) place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward(D) it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign(E) to the people of Israel.(F)

“Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself.[a] You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I 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.

“After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin(G) of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.(H) Turn your face(I) toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. I 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.(J)

“Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt;(K) 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. 10 Weigh out twenty shekels[b](L) of food to eat each day and eat it at set times. 11 Also measure out a sixth of a hin[c] of water and drink it at set times.(M) 12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement(N) for fuel.” 13 The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”(O)

14 Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord!(P) I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead(Q) or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.(R)

15 “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

16 He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off(S) the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,(T) 17 for food and water will be scarce.(U) They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of[d] their sin.(V)

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 4:4 Or upon your side
  2. Ezekiel 4:10 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
  3. Ezekiel 4:11 That is, about 2/3 quart or about 0.6 liter
  4. Ezekiel 4:17 Or away in