Ezekiel, 4

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

1. Son of man, take a clay tablet; place it in front of you and draw on it the city of Jerusalem.

2. And 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.

2. Then act as if you were laying siege to it; dig a trench round it and build a ramp; set up tents and a battering ram against it.

3. Moreover 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.

3. Take an iron pan; place it as a wall of iron between you and the city and look towards the city: it is under siege and you are besieging it. All this will be a sign for the people of Israel.

4. Lie 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.

4. Lie on your left side, taking upon yourself the sin of Israel, for you will bear their sin as long as you are lying on it.

5. For 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.

5. I have assigned to you a number of days equal to the duration of their sins - for a hundred and ninety days you will bear the sin of Israel.

6. And 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.

6. When you have completed this you shall lie down again on your right side and bear the sin of Judah for forty days - one day corresponding to a year.

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

7. Then you shall turn your face and your bared arm towards the siege of Jerusalem and prophesy against it.

8. 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.

8. I shall bind you with cords to prevent you from turning from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your confinement.

9. Take 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.

9. Take some wheat and barley, some beans, lentils, millet and spelt; put it all in one vessel and make some bread; this is what you will eat all the time you are lying on your side - one hundred and ninety days.

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

10. The food you eat will be a daily ration of eight ounces a day;

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

11. you will drink two thirds of a quart of water each day.

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

12. Eat the food as you would a barley cake. You will cook it publicly on human dung,

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

13. for that is the way - says Yahweh - the people of Israel will eat unclean bread among the nations where I shall drive them."

14. Then 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.

14. I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! I have not been defiled: from childhood until now I have never eaten any animal found dead or torn; unclean meat has never entered my mouth."

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

15. He then said, "Very well! I allow you cow dung in place of human dung for baking your bread."

16. Moreover 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:

16. He continued, "Son of man, I shall cut off the food in Jerusalem. They will eat strictly-rationed bread with anxiety and despair as they drink water sparingly,

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

17. for food and water will be in short supply and they will all waste away because of their sin.