Ezekiel 4:16

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

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.” 15“All right,” the Lord said. “You may bake your bread with cow dung instead of human dung.” Then 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. 17Lacking food and water, people will look at one another in terror, and they will waste away under their punishment.

Ezekiel 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 5:16“I will shower you with the deadly arrows of famine to destroy you. The famine will become more and more severe until every crumb of food is gone.
• Ezekiel 14:13“Son of man, suppose the people of a country were to sin against me, and I lifted my fist to crush them, cutting off their food supply and sending a famine to destroy both people and animals.
• Leviticus 26:26I will destroy your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake bread for their families. They will ration your food by weight, and though you have food to eat, you will not be satisfied.
• Psalms 105:16He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply.
• Isaiah 3:1The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water,
• Ezekiel 4:10Ration this out to yourself, eight ounces of food for each day, and eat it at set times.
• Ezekiel 12:18“Son of man, tremble as you eat your food. Shake with fear as you drink your water.
• Psalms 60:3You have been very hard on us, making us drink wine that sent us reeling.
• Lamentations 1:11Her people groan as they search for bread. They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive. “O Lord, look,” she mourns, “and see how I am despised.
• Lamentations 4:9Those killed by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger. Starving, they waste away for lack of food from the fields.
• Lamentations 5:9We hunt for food at the risk of our lives, for violence rules the countryside.

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

• Bread
• Famine
• Instruction
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Son of man
• Care
• Cherub
• Living creatures
• Agabus
• Break
• Hosea
• Measure; Measures
• Staff

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