Yehezkiel 4:1--5:4

Ominous Object Lessons

4:1 “And you, son of man, take a brick ¹  and set it in front of you. Inscribe ²  a city on it – Jerusalem. 4:2 Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp ³  against it! Post soldiers outside it ⁴  and station battering rams around it. 4:3 Then for your part take an iron frying pan ⁵  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 ⁶  for the house of Israel.

4:4 “Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity ⁷  of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity. 4:5 I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days ⁸  for you – 390 days. ⁹  So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. ¹⁰ 

4:6 “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 ¹¹  – I have assigned one day for each year. 4:7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. 4:8 Look 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. ¹² 

4:9 “As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, ¹³  put them in a single container, and make food ¹⁴  from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side – 390 days ¹⁵  – you will eat it. 4:10 The food you eat will be eight ounces ¹⁶  a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed ¹⁷  times. 4:11 And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; ¹⁸  you must drink it at fixed times. 4:12 And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement.” ¹⁹  4:13 And the Lord said, “This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations ²⁰  where I will banish them.”

4:14 And 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 ²¹  has never entered my mouth.”

4:15 So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”

4:16 Then he said to me, “Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply ²²  in Jerusalem. ²³  They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror 4:17 because they will lack bread and water. Each one will be terrified, and they will rot for their iniquity. ²⁴ 

5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor. ²⁵  Shave off some of the hair from your head and your beard. ²⁶  Then take scales and divide up the hair you cut off. 5:2 Burn a third of it in the fire inside the city when the days of your siege are completed. Take a third and slash it with a sword all around the city. Scatter a third to the wind, and I will unleash a sword behind them. 5:3 But take a few strands of hair ²⁷  from those and tie them in the ends of your garment. ²⁸  5:4 Again, take more of them and throw them into the fire, ²⁹  and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the house of Israel.

Yehezkiel 12:1-7

Previewing the Exile

12:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:2 “Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. ³⁰  They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, ³¹  because they are a rebellious house.

12:3 “Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, ³²  although they are a rebellious house. 12:4 Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. 12:5 While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. 12:6 While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. ³³  You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground ³⁴  because I have made you an object lesson ³⁵  to the house of Israel.”

12:7 So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage ³⁶  on my shoulder while they watched.

Yehezkiel 12:17-20

12:17 The word of the Lord came to me: 12:18 “Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, ³⁷  and drink your water with anxious shaking. 12:19 Then say to the people of the land, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in fright, for their land will be stripped bare of all it contains because of the violence of all who live in it. 12:20 The inhabited towns will be left in ruins and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 21:18-23

21:18 The word of the Lord came to me: 21:19 “You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon’s sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city. 21:20 Mark out the routes for the sword to take: “Rabbah of the Ammonites” and “Judah with Jerusalem in it.” ³⁸  21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the fork ³⁹  in the road at the head of the two routes. He looks for omens: ⁴⁰  He shakes arrows, he consults idols, ⁴¹  he examines ⁴²  animal livers. ⁴³  21:22 Into his right hand ⁴⁴  comes the portent for Jerusalem – to set up battering rams, to give the signal ⁴⁵  for slaughter, to shout out the battle cry, ⁴⁶  to set up battering rams against the gates, to erect a siege ramp, to build a siege wall. 21:23 But those in Jerusalem ⁴⁷  will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, ⁴⁸  but the king of Babylon ⁴⁹  will accuse them of violations ⁵⁰  in order to seize them. ⁵¹ 

Yehezkiel 24:3-5

24:3 Recite a proverb to this rebellious house ⁵²  and say to them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says:

“‘Set on the pot, ⁵³  set it on,

pour water in it too;

24:4 add the pieces of meat to it,

every good piece,

the thigh and the shoulder;

fill it with choice bones.

24:5 Take the choice bone of the flock,

heap up bones under it;

boil rapidly,

and boil its bones in it.

Yehezkiel 24:15-24

Ezekiel’s Wife Dies

24:15 The word of Lord came to me: 24:16 “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, ⁵⁴  but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 24:17 Groan in silence for the dead, ⁵⁵  but do not perform mourning rites. ⁵⁶  Bind on your turban ⁵⁷  and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip ⁵⁸  and do not eat food brought by others.” ⁵⁹ 

24:18 So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning ⁶⁰  I acted just as I was commanded. 24:19 Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”

24:20 So I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me: 24:21 Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary – the source of your confident pride, ⁶¹  the object in which your eyes delight, ⁶²  and your life’s passion. ⁶³  Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die ⁶⁴  by the sword. 24:22 Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. ⁶⁵  24:23 Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot ⁶⁶  for your iniquities ⁶⁷  and groan among yourselves. 24:24 Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’

Yehezkiel 37:15-17

37:15 The word of the Lord came to me: 37:16 “As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, ‘For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another branch and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ 37:17 Join ⁶⁸  them as one stick; ⁶⁹  they will be as one in your hand.

[4:1]  ¹ sn Ancient Near Eastern bricks were 10 to 24 inches long and 6 to 13 1/2 inches wide.

[4:1]  ² tn Or perhaps “draw.”

[4:2]  ³ tn Or “a barricade.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “set camps against it.”

[4:3]  ⁵ tn Or “a griddle,” that is, some sort of plate for cooking.

[4:3]  ⁶ tn That is, a symbolic object lesson.

[4:4]  ⁷ tn Or “punishment” (also in vv. 5, 6).

[4:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “I have assigned for you that the years of their iniquity be the number of days.” Num 14:33-34 is an example of the reverse, where the days were converted into years, the number of days spying out the land becoming the number of years of the wilderness wanderings.

[4:5]  ⁹ tc The LXX reads “190 days.”

[4:5]  sn The significance of the number 390 is not clear. The best explanation is that “days” are used figuratively for years and the number refers to the years of the sinfulness of Israel during the period of the First Temple. Some understand the number to refer to the length of the division of the northern and southern kingdoms down to the fall of Jerusalem (931-586 b.c.), but this adds up to only 345 years.

[4:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “When you have carried the iniquity of the house of Israel,” and continuing on to the next verse.

[4:6]  ¹¹ sn The number 40 may refer in general to the period of Judah’s exile using the number of years Israel was punished in the wilderness. In this case, however, one would need to translate, “you will bear the punishment of the house of Judah.”

[4:8]  ¹² sn The action surely refers to a series of daily acts rather than to a continuous period.

[4:9]  ¹³ sn Wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. All these foods were common in Mesopotamia where Ezekiel was exiled.

[4:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “bread.”

[4:9]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX reads “190 days.”

[4:10]  ¹⁶ sn Eight ounces (Heb “twenty shekels”). The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of grain about 230 grams here (8 ounces).

[4:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from time to time.”

[4:11]  ¹⁸ sn A pint and a half [Heb “one-sixth of a hin”]. One-sixth of a hin was a quantity of liquid equal to about 1.3 pints or 0.6 liters.

[4:12]  ¹⁹ sn Human waste was to remain outside the camp of the Israelites according to Deut 23:15.

[4:13]  ²⁰ sn Unclean food among the nations. Lands outside of Israel were considered unclean (Josh 22:19; Amos 7:17).

[4:14]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew term refers to sacrificial meat not eaten by the appropriate time (Lev 7:18; 19:7).

[4:16]  ²² tn Heb, “break the staff of bread.” The bread supply is compared to a staff that one uses for support.

[4:16]  ²³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[4:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “in their punishment.” Ezek 4:16-17 alludes to Lev 26:26, 39. The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here, 3:18, 19; 7:13, 16; 18: 17, 18, 19, 20; 24:23; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment for iniquity.”

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[5:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb, “pass (it) over your head and your beard.”

[5:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “from there a few in number.” The word “strands” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ²⁸ sn Objects could be carried in the end of a garment (Hag 2:12).

[5:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “into the midst of” (so KJV, ASV). This phrase has been left untranslated for stylistic reasons.

[12:2]  ³⁰ sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[12:2]  ³¹ sn This verse is very similar to Isa 6:9-10.

[12:3]  ³² tn Heb “see.” This plays on the uses of “see” in v. 2. They will see his actions with their eyes and perhaps they will “see” with their mind, that is, understand or grasp the point.

[12:6]  ³³ tn Apart from this context the Hebrew term occurs only in Gen 15:17 in reference to the darkness after sunset. It may mean twilight.

[12:6]  ³⁴ tn Or “land” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[12:6]  ³⁵ sn See also Ezek 12:11, 24:24, 27.

[12:7]  ³⁶ tn The words “my baggage” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied from the context.

[12:18]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew term normally refers to an earthquake (see 1 Kgs 19:11; Amos 1:1).

[21:20]  ³⁸ tc The MT reads “Judah in fortified Jerusalem,” a geographic impossibility. The translation follows the LXX, which assumes בְּתוֹכָהּ (bÿtokhah, “in it”) for בְּצוּרָה (bÿtsurah, “fortified”).

[21:20]  sn As the Babylonians approached from the north, one road would branch off to the left and lead down the east side of the Jordan River to Ammon. The other road would veer to the right and lead down west of the Jordan to Jerusalem.

[21:21]  ³⁹ tn Heb “mother.”

[21:21]  ⁴⁰ sn Mesopotamian kings believed that the gods revealed the future through omens. They employed various divination techniques, some of which are included in the list that follows. A particularly popular technique was the examination and interpretation of the livers of animals. See R. R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 90-110.

[21:21]  ⁴¹ tn This word refers to personal idols that were apparently used for divination purposes (Gen 31:19; 1 Sam 19:13, 16).

[21:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “sees.”

[21:21]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the liver.”

[21:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “on the right side,” i.e., the omen mark on the right side of the liver.

[21:22]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “to open the mouth” for slaughter.

[21:22]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “to raise up a voice in a battle cry.”

[21:23]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:23]  ⁴⁸ sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).

[21:23]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “iniquity.”

[21:23]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).

[24:3]  ⁵² sn The book of Ezekiel frequently refers to the Israelites as a rebellious house (Ezek 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9, 26-27; 12:2-3, 9, 25; 17:12; 24:3).

[24:3]  ⁵³ sn See Ezek 11:3-12.

[24:16]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “a strike.”

[24:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “Groan silently. As to the dead….” Cf. M. Greenberg’s suggestion that דֹּם מֵתִים (dom metim) be taken together and דֹּם be derived from ָדּמַם (damam, “to moan, murmur”). See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:508.

[24:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “(For) the dead mourning you shall not conduct.” In the Hebrew text the word translated “dead” is plural, indicating that mourning rites are in view. Such rites would involve outward demonstrations of one’s sorrow, including wailing and weeping.

[24:17]  ⁵⁷ sn The turban would normally be removed for mourning (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12).

[24:17]  ⁵⁸ sn Mourning rites included covering the lower part of the face. See Lev 13:45.

[24:17]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the bread of men.” The translation follows the suggestion accepted by M. Greenberg (Ezekiel [AB], 2:509) that this refers to a meal brought by comforters to the one mourning. Some repoint the consonantal text to read “the bread of despair” (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 2:56), while others, with support from the Targum and Vulgate, emend the consonantal text to read “the bread of mourners” (see D. I. Block, Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:784).

[24:18]  ⁶⁰ tn This may refer to the following morning. For a discussion of various interpretive options in understanding the chronology reflected in verse 18, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:790.

[24:21]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “the pride of your strength” means “your strong pride.”

[24:21]  ⁶² sn Heb “the delight of your eyes.” Just as Ezekiel was deprived of his beloved wife (v. 16, the “desire” of his “eyes”) so the Lord would be forced to remove the object of his devotion, the temple, which symbolized his close relationship to his covenant people.

[24:21]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the object of compassion of your soul.” The accentuation in the traditional Hebrew text indicates that the descriptive phrases (“the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion”) modify the preceding “my sanctuary.”

[24:21]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “fall.”

[24:22]  ⁶⁵ tn See v. 17.

[24:23]  ⁶⁶ tn The same verb appears in 4:17 and 33:10.

[24:23]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “in your punishment.” The phrase “in/for [a person’s] iniquity/punishment” occurs fourteen times in Ezekiel: here; 3:18, 19; 4:17; 7:13, 16; 18:17, 18, 19, 20; 33:6, 8, 9; 39:23. The Hebrew word for “iniquity” may also mean the “punishment” for iniquity or “guilt” of iniquity.

[37:17]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “bring near.”

[37:17]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “one to one for you for one stick.”