Ezekiel 4

1 And you, son of man, take a back and put it before you and on it make a picture of a town, even Jerusalem.

And thou, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem.

2 And make an attack on it, shutting it in, building strong places against it, and making high an earthwork against it; and put up tents against it, placing engines all round it for smashing down its walls.

And lay siege against it, and build a tower against it, and cast up a mound against it; set a camp also against it, and place battering-rams against it round about.

3 And take a flat iron plate, and put it for a wall of iron between you and the town: and let your face be turned to it, and it will be shut in and you will make an attack on it. This will be a sign to the children of Israel.

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

4 Then, stretching yourself out on your left side, take the sin of the children of Israel on yourself: for as long as you are stretched out, so long will the sin of the children of Israel be on you.

Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity.

5 For I have had the years of their sin measured for you by a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: and you will take on yourself the sin of the children of Israel.

But for the years of their iniquity I appoint thee days, three hundred and ninety days; so long shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

6 And when these days are ended, turning on your right side, you are to take on yourself the sin of the children of Judah: forty days, a day for a year, I have had it fixed for you.

And when thou hast brought them to an end, then lie upon thy right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have appointed thee a day for a year.

7 And let your face be turned to where Jerusalem is shut in, with your arm uncovered, and be a prophet against it.

And set thy face against besieged Jerusalem, and uncover thine arm, and prophesy against it!

8 And see, I will put bands on you; and you will be stretched out without turning from one side to the other till the days of your attack are ended.

And 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.

9 And take for yourself wheat and barley and different sorts of grain, and put them in one vessel and make bread for yourself from them; all the days when you are stretched on your side it will be your food.

Take thou also wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and spelt, and put them into one vessel, and make thereof thy bread for the number of days that thou shalt lie upon thy side; three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

10 And you are to take your food by weight, twenty shekels a day: you are to take it at regular times.

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

11 And you are to take water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: you are to take it at regular times.

Thou shalt also drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from time to time shalt thou drink.

12 And let your food be barley cakes, cooking it before their eyes with the waste which comes out of a man.

Thou shalt also eat barley-cakes; and with dung that cometh out of man shalt thou bake them in their sight.

13 And the Lord said, Even so the children of Israel will have unclean bread for their food among the nations where I am driving them.

And Jehovah said, Even thus shall the sons of Israel eat their polluted food among the nations, whither I will drive them.

14 Then I said, Ah, Lord! see, my soul has never been unclean, and I have never taken as my food anything which has come to a natural death or has been broken by beasts, from the time when I was young even till now; no disgusting flesh has ever come into my mouth.

Then said I: Ah! Lord Jehovah, behold, I have never been polluted; for from my youth until now have I not eaten that which died of itself, or was torn in pieces; neither hath unclean food come into my mouth.

15 Then he said to me, See, I have given you cow's waste in place of man's waste, and you will make your bread ready on it.

Then he said to me: Behold, I give thee cow's dung for man's dung; and with that shalt thou prepare thy food.

16 And he said to me, Son of man, see, I will take away from Jerusalem her necessary bread: they will take their bread by weight and with care, measuring out their drinking-water with fear and wonder:

And he said to 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 in amazement;

17 So that they may be in need of bread and water and be wondering at one another, wasting away in their sin.

so that they shall be in want of bread and water, and be astonished one at another, and consume away for their iniquity.