VERSE STUDY • KJV

Ezekiel 4:12-15

¹² And thou shalt eat it [as] barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. ¹³ And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will 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. 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.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

¹² And thou shalt eat it [as] barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. ¹³ And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will 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. 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.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹² And you shall eat the food as you would a barley cake, after you bake it over dried human excrement in the sight of the people.” ¹³ Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.” ¹⁴ “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.” ¹⁵ “Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.”

WEB World English Bible

¹² You shall eat it as barley cakes, and you shall bake it in their sight with dung that comes out of man. ¹³ Yahweh said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them. ¹⁴ Then I said, Ah Lord Yahweh! behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now have I not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn of animals; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, Behold, I have given you cow’s dung for man’s dung, and you shall prepare your bread thereon.

ASV American Standard Version

¹² And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man. ¹³ And Jehovah said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them. ¹⁴ Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! 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 of beasts; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth. ¹⁵ Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

¹² A barley-cake thou dost eat it, and it with dung—the filth of man—thou dost bake before their eyes. ¹³ And Jehovah saith, ‘Thus do the sons of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations whither I drive them.’ ¹⁴ And I say, ‘Ah, Lord Jehovah, lo, my soul is not defiled, and carcase, and torn thing, I have not eaten from my youth, even till now; nor come into my mouth hath abominable flesh.’ ¹⁵ And He saith unto me, ‘See, I have given to thee bullock’s dung instead of man’s dung, and thou hast made thy bread by it.’

Surrounding context — Ezekiel 4

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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:

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

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