Christian Standard Bible
Ezekiel 4:16
16He said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat food they have weighed out and in dread drink rationed water
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
14But I said, “Oh, Lord God, I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. And impure meat has never entered my mouth.” 15He replied to me, “Look, I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you can make your bread over that.” He said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat food they have weighed out and in dread drink rationed water 17for lack of bread and water. Everyone will be devastated and waste away because of their iniquity.
Read all of Ezekiel 4Ezekiel 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Moreover he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto me, Sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
- behold, I will breakשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
- the staffמַטֶּהmaţţeh maţţâh · tribe: supplyH4294
- of breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- in Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
- and they shall eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- by weightמִשְׁקָלmishqâl · weightH4948
- and with careדְּאָגָהde'âgâh · anxietyH1674
- and they shall drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
- waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
- by measureמְשׂוּרָהmeώûrâh · capacityH4884
- and with astonishmentשִׁמָּמוֹןshimmâmôn · horrorH8078
Cross-references for Ezekiel 4:16
- Ezekiel 5:16When I shoot deadly arrows of famine at them, arrows for destruction that I will send to destroy you, inhabitants of Jerusalem, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of bread.
- Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, suppose a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its supply of bread, to send famine through it, and to wipe out both people and animals from it.
- Leviticus 26:26When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and ration out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
- Psalms 105:16He called down famine against the land and destroyed the entire food supply.
- Isaiah 3:1Note this: The Lord God of Armies is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah every kind of security: the entire supply of bread and water,
- Ezekiel 4:10The food you eat each day will weigh eight ounces; you will eat it at set times.
- Ezekiel 12:18“Son of man, eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with anxious shaking.
- Psalms 60:3You have made your people suffer hardship; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
- Lamentations 1:11All her people groan while they search for bread. They have traded their precious belongings for food in order to stay alive. Lord, look and see how I have become despised.
- Lamentations 4:9Those slain by the sword are better off than those slain by hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.
- Lamentations 5:9We secure our food 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
In the dictionaries
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
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