New Living Translation
Ezekiel 4:14
14Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or was killed by other animals. I have never eaten any meat forbidden by the law.”
Ezekiel 4:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
- New International Version (NIV)Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I have never defiled myself. From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So I said, “Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.”
Context of Ezekiel 4:14
12Prepare and eat this food as you would barley cakes. While all the people are watching, bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel and then eat the bread.” 13Then the Lord said, “This is how Israel will eat defiled bread in the Gentile lands to which I will banish them!” Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or was killed by other animals. I have never eaten any meat forbidden by the law.” 15“All right,” the Lord said. “You may bake your bread with cow dung instead of human dung.” 16Then he told me, “Son of man, I will make food very scarce in Jerusalem. It will be weighed out with great care and eaten fearfully. The water will be rationed out drop by drop, and the people will drink it with dismay.
Read all of Ezekiel 4Ezekiel 4:14 word by word
וָאֹמַ֗ר אֲהָהּ֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה הִנֵּ֥ה נַפְשִׁ֖י לֹ֣א מְטֻמָּאָ֑ה וּנְבֵלָ֨ה וּטְרֵפָ֤ה לֹֽא־אָכַ֙לְתִּי֙ מִנְּעוּרַ֣י וְעַד־עַ֔תָּה וְלֹא־בָ֥א בְּפִ֖י בְּשַׂ֥ר פִּגּֽוּל׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I, Ahאֲהָהּ'ăhâhh · alas!H162
- Lordאֲדֹנָי'ădônây · LordH136
- Godיְהֹוִהyehôvih · YHWH/GodH3069
- behold, my soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
- hath not been pollutedטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
- for from my youthנְעוּרִיםnâ‛ûr nâ‛ûr ne‛ûrâh · youthH5271
- up even till now have I not eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- of that which dieth of itselfנְבֵלָהnebêlâh · carcassH5038
- or is torn in piecesטְרֵפָהţerêphâh · torn animalH2966
- neither cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- there abominableפִּגּוּלpiggûl piggûl · refuseH6292
- fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
- into my mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
Cross-references for Ezekiel 4:14
- Ezekiel 9:8While they were out killing, I was all alone. I fell face down on the ground and cried out, “O Sovereign Lord! Will your fury against Jerusalem wipe out everyone left in Israel?”
- Ezekiel 20:49Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, ‘He only talks in riddles!’”
- Jeremiah 1:6“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
- Acts 10:14“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”
- Exodus 22:31“You must be my holy people. Therefore, do not eat any animal that has been torn up and killed by wild animals. Throw it to the dogs.
- Leviticus 11:39“If an animal you are permitted to eat dies and you touch its carcass, you will be defiled until evening.
- Leviticus 17:15“And if any native-born Israelites or foreigners eat the meat of an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals, they must wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. They will remain ceremonially unclean until evening, but then they will be clean.
- Leviticus 19:7If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it.
- Deuteronomy 14:3“You must not eat any detestable animals that are ceremonially unclean.
- Isaiah 65:4At night they go out among the graves, worshiping the dead. They eat the flesh of pigs and make stews with other forbidden foods.
- Isaiah 66:17“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 4:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14My soul hath not been polluted - There is a remarkable similarity between this expostulation of the prophet and that of St. Peter, Acts 10:14.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Abominable flesh - Flesh that had become corrupt and foul by overkeeping. Compare Leviticus 19:7.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. 14-15The prophet said he had never eaten anything unclean. The Lord agreed, letting Ezekiel cook his food over cow dung. He also followed the law for disposing of human waste (see Deuteronomy 23:12–14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. Ezekiel, as a priest, had been accustomed to the strictest abstinence from everything legally impure. Peter felt the same scruple at a similar command (Ac 10:14; compare Is 65:4). Positive precepts, being dependent on a particular command can be set aside at the will of the divine ruler; but moral precepts are everlasting in their obligation because God cannot be inconsistent with His unchanging moral nature. abominable flesh--literally, "flesh that…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 4:14
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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