New King James Version
Ezekiel 4:3
3Moreover 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)Then take an iron griddle and place it between you and the city. Turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege will be against Jerusalem. This will be a warning to the people of Israel.
Context of Ezekiel 4:3
1“You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 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. 4“Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
Read all of Ezekiel 4Ezekiel 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- Moreover takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- thou unto thee an ironבַּרְזֶלbarzel · ironH1270
- panמַחֲבַתmachăbath · griddleH4227
- and setנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
- a wallקִירqîyr qir qîyrâh · wallH7023
- between thee and the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- and setכּוּןkûn · to establish: establishH3559
- thy faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- against it, and it shall be besiegedמָצוֹרmâtsôr mâtsûr · siegeH4692
- and thou shalt lay siegeצוּרtsûr · to confineH6696
- a signאוֹת'ôth · sign: indicatorH226
- to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Cross-references for Ezekiel 4:3
- Leviticus 2:5But if your offering is a grain offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil.
- Ezekiel 12:6In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
- Ezekiel 24:24Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”
- Isaiah 8:18Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the Lord of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 20:3Then the Lord said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia,
- Luke 2:34Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
- Hebrews 2:4God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries