Ezekiel 4:3

Ezekiel 4:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
• New International Version (NIV)Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.

Context of Ezekiel 4:3

1“Now you son of man, get yourself a brick, place it before you and inscribe a city on it, Jerusalem. 2Then lay siege against it, build a siege wall, raise up a ramp, pitch camps and place battering rams against it all around. Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city, and set your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This is a sign to the house of Israel. 4“As for you, lie down on your left side and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; you shall bear their iniquity for the number of days that you lie on it. 5For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their iniquity, three hundred and ninety days; thus you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

Ezekiel 4:3 word by word

וְאַתָּ֤ה קַח־לְךָ֙ מַחֲבַ֣ת בַּרְזֶ֔ל וְנָתַתָּ֤ה אוֹתָהּ֙ קִ֣יר בַּרְזֶ֔ל בֵּינְךָ֖ וּבֵ֣ין הָעִ֑יר וַהֲכִינֹתָה֩ אֶת־פָּנֶ֨יךָ אֵלֶ֜יהָ וְהָיְתָ֤ה בַמָּצוֹר֙ וְצַרְתָּ֣ עָלֶ֔יהָ א֥וֹת הִ֖יא לְבֵ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סRead the interlinear

• Then getלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• yourself an ironבַּרְזֶלbarzel · ironH1270
• plateמַחֲבַתmachăbath · griddleH4227
• and setכּוּןkûn · to establish: prepareH3559
• wallקִירqîyr qir qîyrâh · wallH7023
• betweenבַּ֫יִןbêyn · betweenH996
• you and the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• your faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
• towardאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• it is under siegeמָצוֹרmâtsôr mâtsûr · siegeH4692
• and besiegeצוּרtsûr · to confineH6696
• and besiegeעַל‛al · uponH5921
• it. Thisהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• signאוֹת'ôth · sign: indicatorH226
• to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478

Cross-references for Ezekiel 4:3

• Leviticus 2:5If your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil;
• Ezekiel 12:6Load the baggage on your shoulder in their sight and carry it out in the dark. You shall cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have set you as a sign to the house of Israel.”
• Ezekiel 24:24Thus Ezekiel will be a sign to you; according to all that he has done you will do; when it comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.’”
• Isaiah 8:18Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
• Isaiah 20:3And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush,
• Luke 2:34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed--
• Hebrews 2:4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 4:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Take thou unto thee an iron pan - מחבת machabath, a flat plate or slice, as the margin properly renders it: such as are used in some countries to bake bread on, called a griddle or girdle, being suspended above the fire, and kept in a proper degree of heat for the purpose. A plate like this, stuck perpendicularly in the earth, would show the nature of a wall much better than any pan could do. The Chaldeans threw such a wall round Jerusalem, to prevent the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3An iron pan - Another figure in the coming siege. On Assyrian sculptures from Nimroud and Kouyunjik there are sieges of cities with “forts, mounts, and rams;” and together with these we see a kind of shield set up on the ground, behind which archers are shooting. Such a shield would be represented by the “flat plate” (margin). Ezekiel was directed to take such a plate (part of his household furniture) and place it between him and the representation of the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The prophet was to take on the role of God in this dramatic scene. The iron griddle set up between him and the city showed that Jerusalem had separated itself from God. Meanwhile, the prophet was to face the city with determination, showing that God was still focused and firmly resolved to destroy Jerusalem in the upcoming siege.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. iron pan--the divine decree as to the Chaldean army investing the city. set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city--Ezekiel, in the person of God, represents the wall of separation between him and the people as one of iron: and the Chaldean investing army. His instrument of separating them from him, as one impossible to burst through. set ... face against it--inexorably (Psa 34:16). The exiles envied their brethren remaining in Jerusalem, but…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 4:3

• Instruction
• Iron
• Pantomime
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Care
• Cherub
• Living creatures
• Pan
• Agabus
• Bread
• Hosea
• Iron (1)
• Zedekiah (2)

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