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Ezekiel 4-7
New King James Version
Ezekiel 4-7
New King James Version
The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed
4 “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2 (A)Lay siege against it, build a (B)siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 3 Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be (C)besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. (D)This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
4 “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; (E)so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
7 “Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 (F)And surely I will [a]restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.
9 “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. 11 You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.”
13 Then the Lord said, “So (G)shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”
14 So I said, (H)“Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten (I)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has (J)abominable[b] flesh ever come into my mouth.”
15 Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”
16 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the (K)supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall (L)eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall (M)drink water by measure and with dread, 17 that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and (N)waste away because of their iniquity.
A Sword Against Jerusalem
5 “And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber’s razor, (O)and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. 2 (P)You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of (Q)the city, when (R)the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after (S)them. 3 (T)You shall also take a small number of them and bind them in the edge of your garment. 4 Then take some of them again and (U)throw them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will go out into all the house of Israel.
5 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her. 6 She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her; for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes.’ 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have [c]multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes (V)nor kept My judgments, [d]nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you’— 8 therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. 9 (W)And I will do among you what I have never done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations. 10 Therefore fathers (X)shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments among you, and all of you who remain I will (Y)scatter to all the winds.
11 ‘Therefore, as I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘surely, because you have (Z)defiled My sanctuary with all your (AA)detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; (AB)My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. 12 (AC)One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and (AD)I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after (AE)them.
13 ‘Thus shall My anger (AF)be spent, and I will (AG)cause My fury to rest upon them, (AH)and I will be avenged; (AI)and they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them. 14 Moreover (AJ)I will make you a waste and a reproach among the nations that are all around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
15 ‘So [e]it shall be a (AK)reproach, a taunt, a (AL)lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in (AM)furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I (AN)send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your (AO)supply of bread. 17 So I will send against you famine and (AP)wild beasts, and they will bereave you. (AQ)Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ ”
Judgment on Idolatrous Israel
6 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 “Son of man, (AR)set your face toward the (AS)mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and (AT)I will destroy your [f]high places. 4 Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and (AU)I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. 6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the [g]high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 The slain shall fall in your midst, and (AV)you shall know that I am the Lord.
8 (AW)“Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are (AX)scattered through the countries. 9 Then those of you who escape will (AY)remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because (AZ)I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and (BA)by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; (BB)they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.”
11 ‘Thus says the Lord God: (BC)“Pound[h] your fists and stamp your feet, and say, ‘Alas, for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! (BD)For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 He who is far off shall die by the pestilence, he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged shall die by the famine. (BE)Thus will I spend My fury upon them. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, (BF)on every high hill, (BG)on all the mountaintops, (BH)under every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet incense to all their idols. 14 So I will (BI)stretch out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward (BJ)Diblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ” ’ ”
Judgment on Israel Is Near
7 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel:
(BK)‘An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.
3 Now the end has come upon you,
And I will send My anger against you;
I will judge you (BL)according to your ways,
And I will repay you for all your abominations.
4 (BM)My eye will not spare you,
Nor will I have pity;
But I will repay your ways,
And your abominations will be in your midst;
(BN)Then you shall know that I am the Lord!’
5 “Thus says the Lord God:
‘A disaster, a singular (BO)disaster;
Behold, it has come!
6 An end has come,
The end has come;
It has dawned for you;
Behold, it has come!
7 (BP)Doom has come to you, you who dwell in the land;
(BQ)The time has come,
A day of trouble is near,
And not of rejoicing in the mountains.
8 Now upon you I will soon (BR)pour out My fury,
And spend My anger upon you;
I will judge you according to your ways,
And I will repay you for all your abominations.
9 ‘My eye will not spare,
Nor will I have pity;
I will [i]repay you according to your ways,
And your abominations will be in your midst.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord who strikes.
10 ‘Behold, the day!
Behold, it has come!
(BS)Doom has gone out;
The rod has blossomed,
Pride has budded.
11 (BT)Violence has risen up into a rod of wickedness;
None of them shall remain,
None of their multitude,
None of [j]them;
(BU)Nor shall there be wailing for them.
12 The time has come,
The day draws near.
‘Let not the buyer (BV)rejoice,
Nor the seller (BW)mourn,
For wrath is on their whole multitude.
13 For the seller shall not return to what has been sold,
Though he may still be alive;
For the vision concerns the whole multitude,
And it shall not turn back;
No one will strengthen himself
Who lives in iniquity.
14 ‘They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready,
But no one goes to battle;
For My wrath is on all their multitude.
15 (BX)The sword is outside,
And the pestilence and famine within.
Whoever is in the field
Will die by the sword;
And whoever is in the city,
Famine and pestilence will devour him.
16 ‘Those who (BY)survive will escape and be on the mountains
Like doves of the valleys,
All of them mourning,
Each for his iniquity.
17 Every (BZ)hand will be feeble,
And every knee will be as weak as water.
18 They will also (CA)be girded with sackcloth;
Horror will cover them;
Shame will be on every face,
Baldness on all their heads.
19 ‘They will throw their silver into the streets,
And their gold will be like refuse;
Their (CB)silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them
In the day of the wrath of the Lord;
They will not satisfy their souls,
Nor fill their stomachs,
Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.
20 ‘As for the beauty of his ornaments,
He set it in majesty;
(CC)But they made from it
The images of their abominations—
Their detestable things;
Therefore I have made it
Like refuse to them.
21 I will give it as (CD)plunder
Into the hands of strangers,
And to the wicked of the earth as spoil;
And they shall defile it.
22 I will turn My face from them,
And they will defile My secret place;
For robbers shall enter it and defile it.
23 ‘Make a chain,
For (CE)the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the (CF)worst of the Gentiles,
And they will possess their houses;
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease,
And their holy places shall be (CG)defiled.
25 [k]Destruction comes;
They will seek peace, but there shall be none.
26 (CH)Disaster will come upon disaster,
And rumor will be upon rumor.
(CI)Then they will seek a vision from a prophet;
But the law will perish from the priest,
And counsel from the elders.
27 ‘The king will mourn,
The prince will be clothed with desolation,
And the hands of the common people will tremble.
I will do to them according to their way,
And according to what they deserve I will judge them;
Then they shall know that I am the Lord!’ ”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 4:8 Lit. put ropes on
- Ezekiel 4:14 Ritually unclean flesh, Lev. 7:18
- Ezekiel 5:7 Or raged
- Ezekiel 5:7 So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; many Heb. mss., Syr. but have done (cf. 11:12)
- Ezekiel 5:15 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. you
- Ezekiel 6:3 Places for pagan worship
- Ezekiel 6:6 Places for pagan worship
- Ezekiel 6:11 Lit. Strike your hands
- Ezekiel 7:9 Lit. give
- Ezekiel 7:11 Or their wealth
- Ezekiel 7:25 Lit. Shuddering
Ezekiel 4-7
New International Version
Ezekiel 4-7
New International Version
Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized
4 “Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2 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) 3 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)
4 “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. 5 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.
6 “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) 7 Turn your face(I) toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. 8 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)
9 “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)
God’s Razor of Judgment
5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor(W) to shave(X) your head and your beard.(Y) Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. 2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn(Z) a third(AA) of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind.(AB) For I will pursue them with drawn sword.(AC) 3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.(AD) 4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire(AE) and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.(AF) 6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.(AG)
7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even[e] conformed to the standards of the nations around you.(AH)
8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.(AI) 9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.(AJ) 10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents.(AK) I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.(AL) 11 Therefore as surely as I live,(AM) declares the Sovereign(AN) Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary(AO) with all your vile images(AP) and detestable practices,(AQ) I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.(AR) 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds(AS) and pursue with drawn sword.(AT)
13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath(AU) against them will subside, and I will be avenged.(AV) And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.(AW)
14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.(AX) 15 You will be a reproach(AY) and a taunt, a warning(AZ) and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke.(BA) I the Lord have spoken.(BB) 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.(BC) 17 I will send famine and wild beasts(BD) against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed(BE) will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.(BF)”
Doom for the Mountains of Israel
6 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face(BG) against the mountains(BH) of Israel; prophesy against them(BI) 3 and say: ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys:(BJ) I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.(BK) 4 Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars(BL) will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.(BM) 5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones(BN) around your altars.(BO) 6 Wherever you live,(BP) the towns will be laid waste and the high places(BQ) demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols(BR) smashed and ruined, your incense altars(BS) broken down, and what you have made wiped out.(BT) 7 Your people will fall slain(BU) among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.(BV)
8 “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape(BW) the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.(BX) 9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember(BY) me—how I have been grieved(BZ) by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.(CA) They will loathe themselves for the evil(CB) they have done and for all their detestable practices.(CC) 10 And they will know that I am the Lord;(CD) I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.(CE)
11 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.(CF) 12 One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath(CG) on them.(CH) 13 And they will know that I am the Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols(CI) around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak(CJ)—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.(CK) 14 And I will stretch out my hand(CL) against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah[f]—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.(CM)’”
The End Has Come
7 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:
“‘The end!(CN) The end has come
upon the four corners(CO) of the land!
3 The end is now upon you,
and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct(CP)
and repay you for all your detestable practices.(CQ)
4 I will not look on you with pity;(CR)
I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.
“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’(CS)
5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘Disaster!(CT) Unheard-of[g] disaster!
See, it comes!
6 The end(CU) has come!
The end has come!
It has roused itself against you.
See, it comes!
7 Doom has come upon you,
upon you who dwell in the land.
The time has come! The day(CV) is near!(CW)
There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.
8 I am about to pour out my wrath(CX) on you
and spend my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
and repay you for all your detestable practices.(CY)
9 I will not look on you with pity;
I will not spare you.(CZ)
I will repay you for your conduct
and for the detestable practices among you.(DA)
“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.(DB)
10 “‘See, the day!
See, it comes!
Doom has burst forth,
the rod(DC) has budded,
arrogance has blossomed!
11 Violence(DD) has arisen,[h]
a rod to punish the wicked.
None of the people will be left,
none of that crowd—
none of their wealth,
nothing of value.(DE)
12 The time has come!
The day has arrived!
Let not the buyer(DF) rejoice
nor the seller grieve,
for my wrath is on the whole crowd.(DG)
13 The seller will not recover
the property that was sold—
as long as both buyer and seller live.
For the vision concerning the whole crowd
will not be reversed.
Because of their sins, not one of them
will preserve their life.(DH)
14 “‘They have blown the trumpet,(DI)
they have made all things ready,
but no one will go into battle,
for my wrath(DJ) is on the whole crowd.
15 Outside is the sword;
inside are plague and famine.
Those in the country
will die by the sword;
those in the city
will be devoured by famine and plague.(DK)
16 The fugitives(DL) who escape
will flee to the mountains.
Like doves(DM) of the valleys,
they will all moan,
each for their own sins.(DN)
17 Every hand will go limp;(DO)
every leg will be wet with urine.(DP)
18 They will put on sackcloth(DQ)
and be clothed with terror.(DR)
Every face will be covered with shame,
and every head will be shaved.(DS)
19 “‘They will throw their silver into the streets,(DT)
and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.
Their silver and gold
will not be able to deliver them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath.(DU)
It will not satisfy(DV) their hunger
or fill their stomachs,
for it has caused them to stumble(DW) into sin.(DX)
20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelry
and used it to make(DY) their detestable idols.
They made it into vile images;(DZ)
therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.(EA)
21 I will give their wealth as plunder(EB) to foreigners
and as loot to the wicked of the earth,
who will defile it.(EC)
22 I will turn my face(ED) away from the people,
and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.
They will enter it
and will defile it.(EE)
23 “‘Prepare chains!
For the land is full of bloodshed,(EF)
and the city is full of violence.(EG)
24 I will bring the most wicked of nations
to take possession of their houses.
I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,
and their sanctuaries(EH) will be desecrated.(EI)
25 When terror comes,
they will seek peace in vain.(EJ)
26 Calamity upon calamity(EK) will come,
and rumor upon rumor.
They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,(EL)
priestly instruction in the law will cease,
the counsel of the elders will come to an end.(EM)
27 The king will mourn,
the prince will be clothed with despair,(EN)
and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.
I will deal with them according to their conduct,(EO)
and by their own standards I will judge them.
“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.(EP)’”
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 4:4 Or upon your side
- Ezekiel 4:10 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
- Ezekiel 4:11 That is, about 2/3 quart or about 0.6 liter
- Ezekiel 4:17 Or away in
- Ezekiel 5:7 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac You have
- Ezekiel 6:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts Riblah
- Ezekiel 7:5 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Disaster after
- Ezekiel 7:11 Or The violent one has become
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.