Ezekiel 4 5

Ezekiel 4:5 kjv

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.

Ezekiel 4:5 nkjv

For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 4:5 niv

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.

Ezekiel 4:5 esv

For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 4:5 nlt

I am requiring you to bear Israel's sins for 390 days ? one day for each year of their sin.

Ezekiel 4 verses

Ezekiel 4 5 Meaning

Ezekiel 4:5 declares God's precise command to the prophet Ezekiel: he is to lie on his left side for 390 days, with each day symbolizing a year of the cumulative iniquity of the house of Israel. This divine act is not arbitrary but a measured imposition, demonstrating the depth of their prolonged rebellion and foretelling the severity and duration of the judgment they must endure as a consequence of their sin. The prophet's physical burden thus becomes a tangible, prophetic enactment of Israel's impending punishment.

Ezekiel 4 5 Context

Ezekiel 4:5 is part of a series of highly symbolic, dramatic sign-acts performed by the prophet Ezekiel at God's command. These acts, detailed in Ezekiel chapters 4 and 5, served as vivid prophecies of the impending siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent dispersion of its inhabitants. Ezekiel was situated among the Jewish exiles in Babylon by the Chebar Canal (near modern-day Baghdad) around 593 BC, having been taken captive during the second wave of exiles in 597 BC. The prophecies are directed to both the exiles, who might have clung to false hopes of a quick return, and to those still in Jerusalem.

Chapter 4 specifically focuses on the siege. God commands Ezekiel to draw a detailed miniature of Jerusalem on a clay tablet (Ezek 4:1-3) to signify the coming blockade. He is then to lie on his left side for 390 days (Ezek 4:4-5), representing the historical period of the northern kingdom of Israel's cumulative sin, followed by 40 days on his right side (Ezek 4:6) for Judah's transgressions. During this prolonged period, he is to consume a very meager, prescribed diet of defiled food, baked over human dung (later changed to animal dung), symbolizing the severe famine and uncleanness the inhabitants of Jerusalem would face during the siege (Ezek 4:9-17). The cumulative nature of their "iniquity" – stretching back generations – underscores God's long-suffering patience but also His eventual, just judgment. This verse, therefore, pinpoints a specific measure of that iniquity for the larger Israelite nation (the Northern Kingdom), connecting their past disobedience to their future suffering.

Ezekiel 4 5 Word analysis

• For I have laid upon thee: This phrase indicates a direct divine command and imposition.
  • I have laid upon (Hebrew: nātan - נָתַן): Meaning "to give," "to place," "to put," or "to appoint." Here, it signifies a sovereign act of God, explicitly assigning a task or burden to Ezekiel. It's not the prophet's choice but a divine decree, emphasizing God's control over the events and their prophetic representation. The Lord is actively ordaining this specific sign-act for a definite purpose.
• the years of their iniquity: This signifies the long period of persistent sin that has accumulated and calls for judgment.
  • years (Hebrew: shānîm - שָׁנִים): Plural of shanah (שָׁנָה), meaning "year." Its presence emphasizes the historical duration and generational nature of Israel's unfaithfulness, accumulating over extended periods.
  • iniquity (Hebrew: 'āwōn - עָוֹן): A profound theological term encompassing not only the sin itself (the deviation from God's way, perversity) but also the guilt, culpability, punishment, and consequence that stems from it. It denotes the bent or crooked nature of the transgression. In this context, it speaks to the sum total of Israel's idolatry, disobedience, and rebellion against the Mosaic covenant and Yahweh.
• according to the number of the days: This phrase clarifies how the "years of their iniquity" are to be symbolically represented.
  • This is an interpretive clarification, establishing a specific timeframe by a quantifiable measure. It underscores divine precision in judgment, where the punishment directly correlates to the measure of sin.
• three hundred and ninety days: The precise duration of the symbolic act for Israel.
  • This numerical value for the "house of Israel" (the Northern Kingdom) often refers to the approximate period from the schism under Jeroboam I (circa 930 BC) and his introduction of calf worship (1 Kgs 12) up until the Assyrian conquest and exile of the Northern Kingdom (722 BC) or possibly a slightly later period of idolatry leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem. While specific historical calculations vary among scholars, the number firmly signifies a substantial and cumulative duration of profound apostasy that merits divine judgment.
• so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel: This describes the consequence and purpose of Ezekiel's sign-act.
  • so shalt thou bear (Hebrew: nāśa' - נָשָׂא): To lift, carry, endure, take away, or bear. When paired with 'awon, "bear iniquity," it often signifies to bear the guilt, the consequence, or the punishment of sin. In some priestly contexts (Lev 10:17), it means to act as a go-between, representing the people before God by taking on responsibility for their ritual imperfections. For Ezekiel, it means to visibly manifest and experience the burden of Israel's culpability and its impending consequences. It is a vicarious representation of their suffering and impending judgment, not a substitutionary atonement (which only Messiah can achieve).
  • the iniquity: Refers again to the collective guilt and its just consequence.
  • the house of Israel: Refers specifically to the ten northern tribes that separated from Judah after Solomon's reign, frequently steeped in idolatry and disobedience until their fall to Assyria. This clarifies the target of this specific period of judgment.

Ezekiel 4 5 Bonus section

• The 390 days (for Israel) compared to the 40 days (for Judah in v. 6) suggests a longer and perhaps deeper history of sustained rebellion within the Northern Kingdom compared to the Southern. Scholars often debate the exact start and end points of the 390 years, but generally link it to the extensive idolatry initiated by Jeroboam I.
• The "day for a year" principle (Num 14:34) establishes a divine precedent for interpreting periods of judgment in prophetic symbolism, reinforcing that God measures and judges history with precision.
• This prophetic sign-act emphasizes the cumulative nature of corporate sin. Just as small acts of defiance can compound over years to lead to major consequences, so too did the accumulated transgressions of Israel lead to their comprehensive national collapse.
• Ezekiel's passive and suffering posture underscores the burden of the prophecy itself, revealing the weighty task of a prophet called to deliver an unpalatable message of impending judgment.

Ezekiel 4 5 Commentary

Ezekiel 4:5 powerfully encapsulates the biblical principle that persistent sin inevitably leads to divine judgment, often with a duration commensurate with the offense. God, in His meticulous justice, "laid" the "years of their iniquity" upon Ezekiel, signifying that He had taken careful measure of their accumulated rebellion. The prophet's physical posture and the prescribed 390-day duration were not arbitrary but calculated representations of the Northern Kingdom's lengthy apostasy from the division of the kingdom until, and even beyond, their initial exile.

Ezekiel, by "bearing the iniquity," serves as a living, prophetic parable. He is not atoning for their sin—a role reserved solely for Christ—but rather identifying with, embodying, and experiencing the consequences and burden of their generational guilt on their behalf. This vivid display was a stark message to the exiles who still hoped for a swift deliverance: God's justice was unfolding systematically, stemming from centuries of their forefathers' persistent disobedience, particularly their embrace of idolatry and disregard for the covenant. The extended period demonstrates God's long-suffering patience which eventually yields to righteous wrath when repentance is continually refused. The detailed numbers underscore God's omniscience, showing that His judgments are never capricious but precisely timed and weighed against human sin.