Ezekiel 4:16

Ezekiel 4:16 in other versions

• King James Version (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:
• New International Version (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,
• English Standard Version (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.
• New King James Version (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,

Context of Ezekiel 4:16

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.” Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure. 17So they will lack food and water; they will be appalled at the sight of one another wasting away in their iniquity.

Ezekiel 4:16 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֗י בֶּן־אָדָם֙ הִנְנִ֨י שֹׁבֵ֤ר מַטֵּה־לֶ֙חֶם֙ בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם וְאָכְלוּ־לֶ֥חֶם בְּמִשְׁקָ֖ל וּבִדְאָגָ֑ה וּמַ֕יִם בִּמְשׂוּרָ֥ה וּבְשִׁמָּמ֖וֹן יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃Read the interlinear

• Then He toldאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• meאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• of manהֵןhên · look!H2005
• I am going to cut offשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• the supplyמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: supplyH4294
• of foodלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
• in Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• They will anxiouslyדְּאָגָהde'âgâh · anxietyH1674
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• rationed by weightמִשְׁקָלmishqâl · weightH4948
• and in despairשִׁמָּמוֹןshimmâmôn · horrorH8078
• they will drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• by measureמְשׂוּרָהmeώûrâh · capacityH4884

Cross-references for Ezekiel 4:16

• Ezekiel 5:16When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food.
• Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to cut off from it both man and beast,
• Leviticus 26:26When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
• Psalms 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
• Isaiah 3:1For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
• Ezekiel 4:10You are to weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day, and you are to eat it at set times.
• Ezekiel 12:18“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with quivering and anxiety.
• Psalms 60:3You have shown Your people hardship; we are staggered from the wine You made us drink.
• Lamentations 1:11All her people groan as they search for bread. They have traded their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, O LORD, and consider, for I have become despised.
• Lamentations 4:9Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
• Lamentations 5:9We get our bread at the risk of our lives because of the sword in the wilderness.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 4:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16I will break the staff of bread - They shall be besieged till all the bread is consumed, till the famine becomes absolute; see 2 Kings 25:3; : "And on the ninth of the fourth month, the famine prevailed in the city; and There Was No Bread for the people of the land." All this was accurately foretold, and as accurately fulfilled. Abp. Newcome on 2 Kings 25:6; observes: "This number of years will take us back, with sufficient exactness, from the year in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16The staff of bread - Bread is so called because it is that on which the support of life mainly depends. With astonishment - With dismay and anxiety at the calamities which are befalling them.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-17Verses 9-17 The bread which was Ezekiel's support, was to be made of coarse grain and pulse mixed together, seldom used except in times of urgent scarcity, and of this he was only to take a small quantity. Thus was figured the extremity to which the Jews were to be reduced during the siege and captivity. Ezekiel does not plead, Lord, from my youth I have been brought up delicately, and never used to any thing like this; but that he had been brought up…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-17The near-starvation diet of eight ounces of food and a jar of water each day represents siege rations. This reflects a desperate situation where there was not enough of any one type of grain to make a whole loaf.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. staff of bread--bread by which life is supported, as a man's weight is by the staff he leans on (Le 26:26; Psa 105:16; Is 3:1). by weight, and with care--in scant measure (Eze 4:10).Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 4:16

• Bread
• Famine
• Instruction
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Son of man
• Care
• Cherub
• Living creatures
• Agabus
• Break
• Care; Carefulness; Careful
• Hosea
• Measure; Measures

Commentaries on Ezekiel 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings