Ezekiel — Chapter 4

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1“Now you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem.

2Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.

3Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

4Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side.

5For I have assigned to you 390 days, according to the number of years of their iniquity. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

6When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned to you 40 days, a day for each year.

7You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and prophesy against it.

8Now behold, I will tie you up with ropes so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.

9But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side.

10You are to weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day, and you are to eat it at set times.

11You are also to measure out a sixth of a hin of water to drink, and you are to drink it at set times.

12And you shall eat the food as you would a barley cake, after you bake it over dried human excrement in the sight of the people.”

13Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”

14“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”

15“Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.”

16Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.

17So they will lack food and water; they will be appalled at the sight of one another wasting away in their iniquity.

1Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:

2And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.

3Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

4Lie thou also 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.

5For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

6And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.

7Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

8And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.

9Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, 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, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

10And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

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

12And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.

13And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.

14Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! 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 in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

15Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.

16Moreover 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 care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:

17That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.

1Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem:

2and 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.

3And 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.

4Moreover 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.

5For 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.

6And 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.

7And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it.

8And, 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.

9Take 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.

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

11And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

12And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.

13And Jehovah said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them.

14Then 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.

15Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow`s dung for man`s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.

16Moreover 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:

17that they may want bread and water, and be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.

1“And you, son of man, take a brick and set it in front of you. Inscribe a city on it—Jerusalem.

2Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp against it! Post soldiers outside it and station battering rams around it.

3Then for your part take an iron frying pan and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.

4“Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity.

5I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days for you—390 days. So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

6“When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days—I have assigned one day for each year.

7You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it.

8Look here: I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege.

9“As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, put them in a single container, and make food from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side—390 days—you will eat it.

10The food you eat will be eight ounces a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed times.

11And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; you must drink it at fixed times.

12And you must eat the food as you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement.”

13And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations where I will banish them.”

14And I said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat has never entered my mouth.”

15So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”

16Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply in Jerusalem. They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror

17because they will lack bread and water. Each one will be terrified, and they will rot for their iniquity.

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

2Lay 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.

3Take 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.

4“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.

5For 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.

6“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.

7You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm uncovered; and you shall prophesy against it.

8Behold, 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.

9“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.

10Your food which you shall eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day. From time to time you shall eat it.

11You shall drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin. From time to time you shall drink.

12You shall eat it as barley cakes, and you shall bake it in their sight with dung that comes out of man.”

13Yahweh said, “Even thus will the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.”

14Then I said, “Ah Lord Yahweh! 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!”

15Then he said to me, “Behold, I have given you cow’s dung for man’s dung, and you shall prepare your bread on it.”

16Moreover 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;

17that they may lack bread and water, be dismayed one with another, and pine away in their iniquity.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

God commands Ezekiel to enact Jerusalem's coming siege through a series of sign-acts: he draws the city on a clay brick and stages a mock siege against it (vv. 1-3), then lies on his left side for 390 days bearing Israel's iniquity and on his right side for 40 days bearing Judah's (vv. 4-8), rationing meager bread and water and cooking it over dung fuel to dramatize the coming famine (vv. 9-17). His own body becomes a living sermon of the siege and exile to come.

Authorship & Background

Author: Ezekiel son of Buzi (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Classification: Prophetic Sign-Acts — The Siege Model
Key Themes: Embodied prophecy, the coming siege of Jerusalem enacted in miniature, measured punishment (day = year), the horror of siege conditions, God's concession to priestly scruples (cow dung instead of human dung)
Historical Context: God commands Ezekiel to become a living theater of Jerusalem's siege (which is still 5+ years away, 586 BC). The sign-acts are physical, prolonged, and public: (1) A clay brick with Jerusalem drawn on it, surrounded by siege equipment; (2) lying on his side for 390+40 days bound with ropes; (3) eating rationed bread cooked over dung. Each element communicates: siege is coming, it will be long, and the conditions will be horrific. The 390 days = years of Israel's iniquity; 40 days = years of Judah's iniquity. Ezekiel's priestly objection to cooking over human dung (v.14) — ceremonially defiling — is the only successful negotiation a prophet has with God in Ezekiel. God concedes: cow dung instead.
The Tile, the Fort and the Iron Pan (vv.1-3): The first of the sign-acts, and it is a scale model. Portray the city upon a tile, then lay siege against it, build a fort, cast a mount, set the camp and set battering rams against it round about. The iron pan set between the prophet and the city has been read as the impenetrability of the siege works and as a barrier between God and Jerusalem, and the text does not decide. What is certain is the posture, thou shalt set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged. The siege he is modeling is about four years away.
Three Hundred and Ninety Days on the Left Side (vv.4-5): Lie upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it, with the conversion rate stated, I have appointed thee each day for a year. The arithmetic of three hundred and ninety has never been settled against any period anyone can name, and the Septuagint reads a hundred and ninety instead, which suggests the difficulty is old. What the sign communicates does not depend on solving it: a man lying in the street for over a year, in public, bearing a quantity of guilt measured out in days.
Forty Days on the Right Side (vv.6-8): Then forty days on the right side for the house of Judah, again a day for a year. The physical conditions are specified, the arm uncovered as a man's arm is for work or for striking, the face set toward the model of the siege, and bands laid on him so that he could not turn himself from one side to another till the days of the siege were ended. The sign is immobilisation, which is what a siege is.
Siege Bread, Weighed and Measured (vv.9-17): The ration is specified as a recipe, wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and fitches in one vessel, which is what is left when no single grain can be had in quantity. Twenty shekels of bread a day, about eight ounces, and the sixth part of an hin of water, and both are to be taken by weight and by measure. Then the instruction he objects to, baking it over human dung, and his objection is a priest's, Ah Lord GOD, behold, my soul hath not been polluted. It is the first time he speaks in the book and it is a complaint, and it is partly granted, cow's dung instead. The purpose of the whole sign is given at the end and it is about dread rather than hunger, that they may eat bread by weight, and with care, and drink water by measure, and with astonishment.

Map & Geography

  • Jerusalem (v.1, v.7, v.16): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.

Places on this map

  • JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia

Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Ezekiel 4 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
2BeLikeChrist

Ezekiel 4-5 | A Sign of Suffering | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Ezekiel 4 - Signs of Judgment & Siege on a Wicked Jerusalem
David Guzik

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Ezekiel -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • A Sign Drawn in Clay (vv.1-3) — God has Ezekiel sketch Jerusalem under siege on a brick, turning an ordinary object into a vivid warning the exiles can't miss. What ordinary part of your life could God use to make an unmistakable statement about what matters?
  • Bearing the Weight of Another's Sin (v.5) — Ezekiel lies on his side for 390 days, symbolically carrying the years of Israel's iniquity on his own body. Where has God asked you to carry a burden for others longer than felt comfortable or convenient?
  • Surviving on Whatever's Available (v.9) — The siege bread mixes wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt together, whatever can be scraped into one loaf during scarcity. In your own lean seasons, can you trust God to sustain you even when the provision feels mixed and meager rather than ideal?
  • God Honors a Tender Conscience (vv.14-15) — When Ezekiel objects to defiling himself by cooking over human waste, God adjusts the command rather than overriding his conscience. When something genuinely troubles your conscience before God, do you believe He is willing to hear that objection?