Ezekiel 4 9

Ezekiel 4:9 kjv

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.

Ezekiel 4:9 nkjv

"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.

Ezekiel 4:9 niv

"Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; 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.

Ezekiel 4:9 esv

"And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it.

Ezekiel 4:9 nlt

"Now go and get some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer wheat, and mix them together in a storage jar. Use them to make bread for yourself during the 390 days you will be lying on your side.

Ezekiel 4 verses

Ezekiel 4 9 meaning

Ezekiel 4:9 is a divine instruction to the prophet Ezekiel, commanding him to prepare a peculiar and meager bread from a mixture of grains and legumes: wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. This bread, symbolizing extreme scarcity and poor quality food, was to be Ezekiel's sole sustenance for 390 days, the period he lay on his side in another prophetic sign-act. It vividly portends the severe famine and degradation that Jerusalem's inhabitants would suffer during the Babylonian siege, demonstrating the depths of their coming affliction and God's judgment against their sin.

Ezekiel 4 9 Context

Ezekiel 4:9 is part of a series of dramatic sign-acts performed by the prophet Ezekiel at the command of God. These acts were meant to communicate God's impending judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah to the exiled Israelites in Babylon (Tel-Abib). Chapter 4 specifically depicts the siege of Jerusalem. Beginning with drawing a plan of Jerusalem on a brick (v. 1-3), Ezekiel then lies on his left side for 390 days (symbolizing the years of Israel's sin) and his right side for 40 days (symbolizing Judah's sin) (v. 4-8). The preparation and consumption of the famine bread (v. 9-17) are directly linked to these prolonged periods, demonstrating the grim reality the besieged city would face. The bread's specific composition, small ration, and crude cooking method (v.12, involving human then animal dung due to Ezekiel's plea) paint a visceral picture of extreme scarcity, humiliation, and defilement that was a direct consequence of Judah's idolatry and rebellion against God, fulfilling the covenant curses of famine during a siege.

Ezekiel 4 9 Word analysis

• Take (לֶקַח - lẹqaḥ): An imperative, "take," emphasizing this is a direct, unavoidable divine command to Ezekiel to physically engage in this prophetic action. It requires active procurement and preparation.
• wheat (חִטִּים - ḥiṭṭim): The most desirable and staple grain in the ancient Near East. Its inclusion among less preferred grains already hints at degradation.
• barley (שְׂעֹרִים - sĕ'orim): A coarser, cheaper grain, often used for animal fodder or consumed by the poor (cf. Judges 7:13). Its presence indicates a downturn in quality and availability.
• beans (פּוֹל - pol): Legumes, rich in protein, but not typically a primary component of standard bread, serving as a substitute when main grains are scarce.
• lentils (עֲדָשִׁים - 'ădāšim): Another legume, common as food for the poor, as famously seen in Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of lentil stew (Gen 25:34). Its inclusion highlights desperation.
• millet (דֹחַן - doḥan): A hardy, coarse, small-seeded grain, less palatable and primarily associated with feeding livestock or used by the very poor, especially during times of extreme scarcity.
• spelt (כֻּסְּמִים - kussĕmim): A primitive, tough-hulled species of wheat (sometimes translated as rye or emmer), also of lesser quality and typically considered food for the poor or for animals, often harvested and prepared differently due to its tougher nature.
• put them in a storage jar (וְנָתַתָּה אֹתָם בִּכְלִי אֶחָד - wĕnāṫaṫāh 'ōtām biḵlî 'eḥāḏ): Lit., "and you shall put them in one vessel." This signifies mixing all disparate ingredients together. There is no separation or preference; all available is combined. It represents the lack of choice and extreme necessity during a siege, as well as a metaphor for the 'mixed up' defilement of the people.
• and use them to make bread for yourself (וְעָשִׂיתָ אֹתָם לְךָ לֶחֶם - wĕ'āśîtā 'ōtām lĕḵā leḥem): Emphasizes that Ezekiel is to personally undertake the arduous task of grinding and baking. "For yourself" means he is to personally experience and live out the deprivation that awaits the people. The resulting bread would be crude and unpalatable.
• You are to eat it (אֹתָהּ תֹּאכֵל - 'ōṯāh tōḵēl): A direct command to consume. There is no option for refusal, reinforcing the severe discipline.
• during the 390 days you lie on your side (מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה שֹׁכֵב עַל־צִדֶּךָ - mispar hayyāmîm 'ăšer 'atāh šōḵēḇ 'al-ṣiddeḵā): This phrase directly links the quality and consumption of the bread to the extended duration of Ezekiel's symbolic siege-posture. It emphasizes the protracted nature of suffering and judgment for the accumulated iniquity of Israel and Judah.

Words-group Analysis

• "Take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt": This inventory highlights a blend of standard and inferior grains and legumes. Normally, one would not mix all these, especially not for daily bread. This composite "bread" immediately signals an emergency ration, reflecting a desperate food shortage, where no single type of grain is sufficient or available in its pure form. It directly fulfills the covenant curses of famine (Lev 26:26).
• "put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself": The mixing in "one vessel" further underscores the indiscriminant collection of all available resources, signifying complete destitution and the removal of dietary choices. The command to make it "for yourself" is critical, compelling Ezekiel to internalize and personify the nation's suffering, making the prophecy concrete and palpable for him and his audience.
• "You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side": This phrase ties the degraded diet directly to the extended period of symbolic judgment. The act of eating such crude food for such a long duration is part of the painful, disciplinary message. It represents a prolonged period of hardship, reflecting the depth and duration of the nation's accumulated sin that has led to such severe punishment.

Ezekiel 4 9 Bonus section

• Symbolic Weight of "Six" Grains: The specific number of six ingredients might carry additional symbolic weight, as six often falls short of the completeness of seven, indicating imperfection, insufficiency, and a truncated blessing in the context of covenant judgment.
• Malnourishment as Punishment: While providing basic calories, such a diet, eaten over 390 days, would likely lead to malnourishment, further emphasizing the severity of the coming siege and its effect on the health and vitality of the population. The mixture ensures minimal nutritional value but highlights a lack of proper, healthy nourishment.
• Defilement of Daily Life: This instruction, especially when coupled with the subsequent command in verse 12 to cook the bread over human dung (later adjusted to animal dung in v.15 due to Ezekiel's plea), vividly portrays the complete defilement and utter disruption of daily life that Jerusalem would experience. It indicates not only famine but a complete lack of hygiene and basic amenities, reducing people to subhuman conditions, and forcing them to consume "unclean food among the nations" (Ezek 4:13).

Ezekiel 4 9 Commentary

Ezekiel 4:9 presents a powerful and graphic symbol of God's judgment against Jerusalem and Judah. The command to Ezekiel to consume a bread made from a heterogeneous and substandard mix of grains for an extended period is a prefiguration of the extreme famine during the Babylonian siege. This 'famine bread' is not merely sustenance but a physical embodiment of the breaking of "the staff of bread" (Ezek 4:16; Lev 26:26). It symbolizes a complete societal breakdown where primary staples become scarce, and people resort to whatever combination of coarse grains and legumes they can find to survive. The sheer unpalatability and impurity (especially when considered with the subsequent command regarding the cooking fuel in vv. 12-15) of this bread speak to the depths of degradation and defilement that awaited a people who had similarly corrupted themselves through idolatry and disobedience. Ezekiel, by living this harsh reality, served as a stark, living warning that God's judgment would be total and pervasive, affecting the most basic human need – food. It underscores that spiritual rebellion leads to tangible, often horrifying, consequences in the physical realm.