Study Desk

"Now you, son of man, take a brick, set it in front of you, and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.

Then lay siege against it:^(a) construct a siege wall, build a ramp, pitch military camps, and place battering rams against it on all sides.

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 for the house of Israel.^(b)

"Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity^[a] of the house of Israel on it. You will bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side.

For I have assigned you the years of their iniquity according to the number of days you lie down, 390 days; so you will bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.^(c)

When 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 you 40 days, a day for each year.

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

Be aware that I will put cords on you so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.^(d)

"Also take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. Put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the number of days you lie on your side, 390 days.

The food you eat each day will be eight ounces^[b] by weight; you will eat it from time to time.^[c]

You are also to drink water by measure, a sixth of a gallon,^[d] which you will drink from time to time.

You will eat it as you would a barley cake and bake it over dried human excrement in their sight."

The Lord said, "This is how the Israelites will eat their bread—ceremonially unclean—among the nations where I will banish them."^(e)

But I said, "Oh, Lord God , I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.^(f) And impure meat has never entered my mouth."^(g)

He replied to me, "Look, I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you can make your bread over that."

Then He said to me, "Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem.^(h) They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight and in dread drink water by measure.⁽ⁱ⁾

So they will lack bread and water; everyone will be devastated and waste away because of their iniquity.^(j)

"Now you, son of man, take a sharp sword,^(a) use it as you would a barber's razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair.

You are to burn up a third of it in the city when the days of the siege have ended;^(b) you are to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind, for I will draw a sword to chase after them.

But you are to take a few strands from the hair and secure them in the folds of your robe.^(c)

Take some more of them, throw them into the fire, and burn them in it.^(d) A fire will spread from it to the whole house of Israel.

"This is what the Lord God says: I have set this Jerusalem in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.

But she has rebelled against My ordinances with more wickedness than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that surround her. For her people have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.

"Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have been more insubordinate than the nations around you^(e)—you have not walked in My statutes or kept My ordinances; you have not even kept the ordinances of the nations around you—

therefore, this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments within you in the sight of the nations.

Because of all your detestable practices, I will do to you what I have never done before and what I will never do again.^(f)

As a result, fathers will eat their sons^(g) within Jerusalem,^[a] and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your survivors to every direction of the wind.

"Therefore, as I live"—this is the declaration of the Lord God —"I am going to cut you off and show you no pity, because you have defiled My sanctuary^(h) with all your detestable practices and abominations.⁽ⁱ⁾ Yes, I will not spare you.

A third of your people will die by plague and be consumed by famine within you;^(j) a third will fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter a third to every direction of the wind, and I will draw a sword to chase after them.^(k)

When My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath on them, I will be appeased.^(l) Then after I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken in My jealousy.^(m)

"I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of everyone who passes by.

So you^[b] will be a disgrace and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations around you when I execute judgments against you in anger,⁽ⁿ⁾ wrath, and furious rebukes. I, Yahweh, have spoken.

When I shoot deadly arrows of famine at them, arrows for destruction that I will send to destroy you, inhabitants of Jerusalem, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of bread.

I will send famine and dangerous animals against you. They will leave you childless, Jerusalem. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, Yahweh, have spoken."^(o)