Ezekiel 4:1

Ezekiel 4:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
• English Standard Version (ESV)"And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“And now, son of man, take a large clay brick and set it down in front of you. Then draw a map of the city of Jerusalem on it.

Context of Ezekiel 4:1

“Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. 3Then 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.

Ezekiel 4:1 word by word

וְאַתָּ֤ה בֶן־אָדָם֙ קַח־לְךָ֣ לְבֵנָ֔ה וְנָתַתָּ֥ה אוֹתָ֖הּ לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וְחַקּוֹתָ֥ עָלֶ֛יהָ עִ֖יר אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thou also, sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• thee a tileלְבֵנָהlebênâh · brickH3843
• and layנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• it beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• thee, and pourtrayחָקַקchâqaq · to decreeH2710
• upon it the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389

Cross-references for Ezekiel 4:1

• Ezekiel 5:1“Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair.
• Ezekiel 12:3“Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people.
• 1 Samuel 15:27As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.
• 1 Kings 11:30and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.
• Isaiah 20:2at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.
• Jeremiah 13:1This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.”
• Jeremiah 18:2“Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”
• Jeremiah 19:1This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests
• Jeremiah 25:15This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.
• Jeremiah 27:2This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck.
• Hosea 1:2When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.”
• Hosea 3:1The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
• Hosea 12:10I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them.”

Commentaries on Ezekiel 4:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Take thee a tile - A tile, such as we use in covering houses, will give us but a very inadequate notion of those used anciently; and also appear very insufficient for the figures which the prophet was commanded to pourtray on it. A brick is most undoubtedly meant; yet, even the larger dimensions here, as to thickness, will not help us through the difficulty, unless we have recourse to the ancients, who have spoken of the dimensions of the bricks commonly…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1A tile - Rather, a brick. Sun-dried or kiln-burned bricks were from very early times used for building walls throughout the plain of Mesopotamia. The bricks of Nineveh and Babylon are sometimes stamped with what appears to be the device of the king in whose reign they were made, and often covered with a kind of enamel on which various scenes are portrayed. Among the subjects depicted on such bricks discovered at Nimroud are castles and forts.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The siege of Jerusalem. (Ezek 4:1-8) The famine the inhabitants would suffer. (Ezek 4:9-17) Verses 1-8 The prophet was to represent the siege of Jerusalem by signs. He was to lie on his left side for a number of days, supposed to be equal to the years from the establishment of idolatry. All that the prophet sets before the children of his people, about the destruction of Jerusalem, is to show that sin is the provoking cause of the ruin of that once…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2The first of Ezekiel’s sign acts was a visual message. A sign act is a symbolic action that teaches a lesson (see “Prophetic Sign Acts” Theme Note). God told Ezekiel to build a small model of Jerusalem. He then showed the city surrounded by enemy forces. This model picture showed that Jerusalem would soon be under siege (surrounded and attacked by an army).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-171. tile--a sun-dried brick, such as are found in Babylon, covered with cuneiform inscriptions, often two feet long and one foot broad.Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 4:1

• Drawing
• Instruction
• Pantomime
• Symbols and Similitudes
• Tile

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Son of man
• Care
• Cherub
• Graving
• Living creatures
• Agabus
• Hosea
• Tile; Tiling
• 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