Ezekiel 4:16 kjv
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:
Ezekiel 4:16 nkjv
Moreover He said to me, "Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall drink water by measure and with dread,
Ezekiel 4:16 niv
He then said to me: "Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,
Ezekiel 4:16 esv
Moreover, he said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.
Ezekiel 4:16 nlt
Then he told me, "Son of man, I will make food very scarce in Jerusalem. It will be weighed out with great care and eaten fearfully. The water will be rationed out drop by drop, and the people will drink it with dismay.
Ezekiel 4 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel 4:16 | "And 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 carefulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:" | Symbolizes judgment of famine |
| Leviticus 26:26 | "And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver to you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied." | Foreshadows severe famine |
| Deuteronomy 28:56 | "The softened and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward her husband, and toward her son, and toward her daughter," | Effect of famine on tenderness |
| 2 Kings 6:25 | "And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until there were an ass's head about eighty pieces of silver, and of a cubit measure of doves' dung about five pieces of silver." | Example of famine's severity |
| Lamentations 4:4 | "The tongue of the sucking child crieth for thirst, and the young maids and the young men are fallen with hunger." | Vivid depiction of hunger |
| Jeremiah 52:6 | "And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city in the night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden: and the Chaldeans were against the city round about: and they went forth by the way of the plain." | Account of Jerusalem's fall |
| Psalm 5:12 | "For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield." | Contrast with judgment |
| Isaiah 3:1 | "For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water," | Parallel prophecy of famine |
| Proverbs 20:30 | "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so are stripes in the innermost parts of the belly." | Discipline for sin |
| Revelation 6:6 | "And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; but hurt thou not the oil and the wine." | Famine under seals |
| Jeremiah 14:18 | "If I go forth into the field, behold the slain with the sword; and if I enter into the city, then, behold them that hold hunger; yea, a prophet and a priest go to and fro in the land, and they have no knowledge." | Prophet's empathy for suffering |
| Ezekiel 14:13 | "Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by continuing to profane themselves, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send into it famine, and will cut off both man and beast from it:" | Condition for famine judgment |
| Hosea 5:14 | "For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him." | God's fierce judgment |
| Amos 4:6 | "And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord." | Warning of famine withheld |
| Nahum 3:3 | "The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain; and there is a heap of dead bodies; and there is no end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:" | Judgment on Nineveh |
| Psalm 107:34 | "He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;" | God's power to bring drought |
| Luke 1:53 | "He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away." | Contrast of God's provision |
| Zechariah 11:9 | "Then said I, I will not feed you: that which cometh on is for the dying, and that which is gone is for the fallen, and those that are left shall eat every one the flesh of another." | Shepherd rejecting his flock |
| 1 Corinthians 6:10 | "Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." | List of those outside God's kingdom |
| 2 Corinthians 10:17 | "But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." | True boasting |
Ezekiel 4 verses
Ezekiel 4 16 Meaning
Ezekiel 4:16 describes a severe drought of bread in Jerusalem. God assures Ezekiel that He will restrain the supply of bread in the city, causing intense scarcity and rationing. This scarcity is a direct consequence of the people's sin and rebellion against God.
Ezekiel 4 16 Context
Ezekiel chapter 4 contains a series of symbolic actions prescribed by God to Ezekiel, depicting the siege and eventual destruction of Jerusalem and the sin of the people of Israel. Following the depictions of the siege (verses 1-3) and the judgment on Judah's sin (verses 4-8), verse 16 continues this theme of severe judgment, specifically focusing on the aspect of famine that will accompany the siege. This prophecy was given to Ezekiel in Babylon during the time when Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonian army. The people of Israel had repeatedly turned away from God, embracing idolatry and injustice. God's judgment, therefore, was a direct response to their covenant unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel 4 16 Word Analysis
and (וְ , wə) - Conjunction, linking the statement of breaking bread with its consequence.
he (הוּא , hū) - Pronoun, referring to God.
said (אָמַר , ’āmār) - Verb, indicating God's communication.
unto (אֶל־ , ’el) - Preposition, indicating direction.
me (אֹתִ֞י , ’ōṯî) - Pronoun, referring to Ezekiel.
Son (בֶּן־ , ben) - Noun, vocative addressing Ezekiel, emphasizing his humanity and the prophetic relationship.
of (בֶּן־ , ben) - Implies son of.
man (אָדָם , ’āḏām) - Noun, referring to humankind, common address to prophets.
Behold (הִנֵּה , hinneh) - Interjection, drawing attention emphatically to what follows.
I (אָנֹכִ֑י , ’ānōḵî) - Pronoun, God identifying Himself.
will (וְ , wə) - Future tense indicator attached to the verb.
break (שָׁבַר , šāḇar) - Verb, to break, shatter, to destroy. Denotes complete cessation.
the (אֶת־ , ’eṯ) - Direct object marker.
staff (מַטֶּ֣ה , maṭṭeh) - Noun, here used metaphorically. A staff provides support and sustenance; its breaking signifies the removal of that support.
of (מַטֶּ֣ה , maṭṭeh) - Genitive, staff of.
bread (לֶחֶם , leḥem) - Noun, staple food, symbolizing nourishment and provision.
in (בִּירוּשָׁלַ֣͏ִם , bîrûšālāyiym) - Preposition, location.
Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַ֣͏ִם , yə-rûšālāyiym) - Proper noun, the capital city of Judah, representing the nation.
and (וְ , wə) - Conjunction.
they (וְאָכְל֣וּ , wə’āḵlû) - Pronoun, third person plural, referring to the people of Jerusalem.
shall (וְאָכְל֣וּ , wə’āḵlû) - Future tense.
eat (אָכַל , ’āḵal) - Verb, to consume food.
bread (לֶחֶם , leḥem) - Noun.
by (בְּ , bə) - Preposition.
weight (מִשְׁקָל , mišqāl) - Noun, a measured amount, indicating strict rationing.
and (וּבְחֶשְׁבּוֹן , ûḇəḥešbôn) - Conjunction.
with (בְּ , bə) - Preposition.
carefulness (חֶשְׁבּוֹן , ḥešbôn) - Noun, literally "reckoning" or "counting." Implies anxiety, meticulousness due to scarcity.
and (וּמַ֖יִם , ûmáyim) - Conjunction.
they (וְשָׁת֣וּ , wəšāṯû) - Pronoun, referring to the people.
shall (וְשָׁת֣וּ , wəšāṯû) - Future tense.
drink (שָׁתָה , šāṯāh) - Verb, to imbibe.
water (מַ֣יִם , máyim) - Noun.
by (בְּ , bə) - Preposition.
measure (מִדָּ֣ה , mîddāh) - Noun, a fixed quantity, again highlighting rationing.
and (וּבְשֶׁ֣בֶר , ûḇešeḇer) - Conjunction.
with (בְּ , bə) - Preposition.
astonishment (שֶׁבֶר , šeḇer) - Noun, terror, dismay, amazement, often associated with shock and dread resulting from scarcity.
Words Group Analysis:
- "break the staff of bread" (šāḇar ’eṯ maṭṭeh leḥem) signifies a total destruction of food supply, leaving no dependable sustenance.
- "eat bread by weight, and with carefulness" (’āḵlû leḥem mišqāl ûḇəḥešbôn) powerfully illustrates the extreme scarcity where even basic food is precisely measured and consumed with anxiety.
- "drink water by measure, and with astonishment" (šāṯû máyim mîddāh ûḇešeḇer) similarly depicts the critical shortage of water, leading to terror and despair.
Ezekiel 4 16 Bonus Section
The symbolic actions in Ezekiel 4 are meant to impress the severity of God's judgment upon the people through Ezekiel's own experiences. The detail of bread and water being measured with "carefulness" and "astonishment" emphasizes the psychological impact of prolonged deprivation, turning sustenance into a source of fear rather than comfort. This meticulous rationing was a known outcome of sieges in the ancient Near East, a harsh reality the people of Jerusalem would soon face. The metaphor of bread as a "staff" implies support and provision, and its breaking signifies a complete withdrawal of God’s sustaining grace due to their persistent sin. This judgment is not arbitrary but a direct consequence of their repeated covenant violations, particularly idolatry and injustice, which alienated them from the life-giving God.
Ezekiel 4 16 Commentary
Ezekiel 4:16 is a potent prophecy of the dire famine that will grip Jerusalem. The breaking of the "staff of bread" means that the very source of life-sustaining food will be eliminated. This is not just scarcity; it is the removal of all dependable support. The subsequent consumption of bread by "weight" and "carefulness" indicates precise rationing, born out of desperate scarcity and accompanied by immense psychological distress. Similarly, water will be available only in measured amounts, fueling "astonishment"—a profound sense of dread and shock at their dire circumstances. This verse underscores God's sovereignty over sustenance and His judgment upon a people who had broken His covenant. The meticulous rationing speaks to a complete loss of security and provision, highlighting the consequences of national sin.