Ezekiel 4:16
New International Version
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,

New Living Translation
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.

English Standard Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.

King James Bible
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 King James Version
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,

New American Standard Bible
Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror,

NASB 1995
Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror,

NASB 1977
Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror,

Legacy Standard Bible
Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they will drink water by measure and in desolation

Amplified Bible
Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold (listen carefully), I am going to break the staff of bread [that supports life] in Jerusalem; and they shall eat bread [rationed] by weight and [eat it] with anxiety and fear, and drink water by measure and [drink it] in horror [of the impending starvation],

Christian Standard Bible
He said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat food they have weighed out and in dread drink rationed water

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight and in dread drink water by measure.

American Standard Version
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 fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay:

Contemporary English Version
Ezekiel, the people of Jerusalem will starve. They will have so little food and water that they will be afraid and hopeless.

English Revised Version
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 carefulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
He also said to me, "Son of man, I am going to cut off the bread supply in Jerusalem. People will anxiously eat rationed bread and fearfully drink rationed water.

Good News Translation
And he added, "Mortal man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread for Jerusalem. The people there will be distressed and anxious as they measure out the food they eat and the water they drink.

International Standard Version
He also told me, "Son of Man, look! I'm about to disrupt the source of bread in Jerusalem. As a result, they'll ration bread by weight while their terror continues to grow and they'll ration drinking water while their horror continues to mount!

Majority Standard Bible
Then He told me, ?Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.

NET Bible
Then he said to me, "Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply in Jerusalem. They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror

New Heart English Bible
Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, look, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay:

Webster's Bible Translation
Moreover he said to 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.

World English Bible
Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness. They will drink water by measure, and in dismay;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And He says to me, “Son of man, behold, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they have eaten bread by weight and with fear; and water by measure and with astonishment, they drink;

Young's Literal Translation
And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, lo, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they have eaten bread by weight and with fear; and water by measure and with astonishment, they do drink;

Smith's Literal Translation
And he will say to me, Son of man, behold me breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they ate bread by weight and with fear; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said to me: Son of man: Behold, I will break in pieces the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care: and they shall drink water by measure, and in distress.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And he said to me: “Son of man, behold: I will crush the staff of bread in Jerusalem. And they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety. And they will drink water by measure and with anguish.

New American Bible
Then he said to me: Son of man, I am about to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem so they shall eat bread which they have weighed out anxiously and drink water which they have measured out fearfully.

New Revised Standard Version
Then he said to me, Mortal, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Moreover, he said to me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; and they shall eat bread by weight; and when thirsty, they shall drink water by measure;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And he said to me: “Son of man, behold, I break the staff of grain in Jerusalem and they shall eat bread by the shekel, and they shall drink water in thirst by measure
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
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 anxiety; and they shall drink water by measure, and in appalment;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And he said to me, Son of man, behold, I break the support of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight and in want; and shall drink water by measure, and in a state of ruin:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Defiled Bread
15“Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.” 16Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure. 17So they will lack food and water; they will be appalled at the sight of one another wasting away in their iniquity.…

Cross References
Leviticus 26:26
When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.

Isaiah 3:1
For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,

Jeremiah 14:1-4
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: / “Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. / The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. ...

Lamentations 4:4-10
The nursing infant’s tongue clings in thirst to the roof of his mouth. Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them any. / Those who once ate delicacies are destitute in the streets; those brought up in crimson huddle in ash heaps. / The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than that of Sodom, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand turned to help her. ...

Amos 4:6
“I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

Micah 6:14
You will eat but not be satisfied, and your hunger will remain with you. What you acquire, you will not preserve; and what you save, I will give to the sword.

Deuteronomy 28:48
you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

2 Kings 25:3
By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

Jeremiah 52:6
By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.

Lamentations 5:10
Our skin is as hot as an oven with fever from our hunger.

Matthew 24:7
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Luke 21:11
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

Revelation 6:5-6
And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales. / And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.”

Mark 13:8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

Acts 11:28
One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)


Treasury of Scripture

Moreover he said to 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:

I will

Ezekiel 5:16
When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

Ezekiel 14:13
Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

Leviticus 26:26
And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

eat

Ezekiel 4:10,11
And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it…

Ezekiel 12:18,19
Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness; …

Psalm 60:3
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.

Jump to Previous
Anxiety Appalment Astonishment Bread Break Care Cut Dismay Drink Drinking-Water Eat Fear Fearfulness Food Horror Jerusalem Measure Measuring Moreover Necessary Rationed Staff Supply Water Weight Wonder
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Anxiety Appalment Astonishment Bread Break Care Cut Dismay Drink Drinking-Water Eat Fear Fearfulness Food Horror Jerusalem Measure Measuring Moreover Necessary Rationed Staff Supply Water Weight Wonder
Ezekiel 4
1. Under type of a siege is shown the time from the defection of Jeroboam to captivity
9. By the provision of the siege, is shown the hardness of the famine














Then He said to me
This phrase indicates a direct communication from God to the prophet Ezekiel. The Hebrew root for "said" is "אָמַר" (amar), which is often used in the Old Testament to denote divine speech. This highlights the authority and seriousness of the message being conveyed. In the context of Ezekiel, a prophet during the Babylonian exile, this divine communication underscores the importance of the prophetic role as a mouthpiece for God's will and judgment.

Son of man
This title, "בֶּן־אָדָם" (ben-adam) in Hebrew, is used frequently in Ezekiel, emphasizing the humanity and humility of the prophet in contrast to the divine majesty of God. It serves as a reminder of Ezekiel's role as a representative of the people, sharing in their human frailty and yet called to deliver God's message. This term also foreshadows the New Testament use of "Son of Man" as a title for Jesus, linking the prophetic mission of Ezekiel to the ultimate mission of Christ.

I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem
The phrase "cut off" comes from the Hebrew "שָׁבַר" (shabar), meaning to break or destroy. This indicates a severe judgment, as bread was a staple of life in ancient Israel. The historical context here is the impending siege of Jerusalem by Babylon, which would lead to famine and suffering. Bread symbolizes sustenance and life, and its removal signifies God's judgment and the dire consequences of the people's disobedience.

The people will eat bread by weight and in anxiety
Eating "by weight" suggests rationing, a common practice during sieges when food was scarce. The Hebrew word for "anxiety" is "דְּאָגָה" (de'agah), reflecting the fear and uncertainty that accompany such dire circumstances. This phrase paints a vivid picture of the desperation and fear that would grip Jerusalem during the siege, serving as a warning of the physical and emotional toll of turning away from God.

and drink water by measure and in dread
Similar to the rationing of bread, "by measure" indicates a limited supply of water, a critical resource in the arid climate of the Middle East. The word "dread" translates from the Hebrew "שִׁמָּמוֹן" (shimmamon), conveying a sense of horror and panic. This reflects the extreme conditions the people would face, emphasizing the severity of God's judgment and the need for repentance and reliance on Him for true sustenance and peace.

(16) I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem.--In Ezekiel 4:16-17, the meaning of the foregoing symbolism is declared in plain language. Bread, as the chief article of food is put for all food, the specific for the general. There shall be extreme suffering and distress, as a part of the punishment for their long-continued sins.

Verse 16. - The staff of bread. The phrase occurs again in Ezekiel 5:16; Ezekiel 14:13, and also in Leviticus 26:26; Psalm 105:16. In Isaiah 3:1 the thought is the same, but the Hebrew word is different. They shall eat bread by weight, etc. The phrase occurs, it may be noted, in Leviticus 26:26, one of the verses above referred to. The care and astonishment, implying that the wonted cheerfulness of meals would have departed, meet us again in Ezekiel 12:19.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then He told
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

me,
אֵלַ֗י (’ê·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

“Son
בֶּן־ (ben-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of man,
אָדָם֙ (’ā·ḏām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

I am going to cut off
שֹׁבֵ֤ר (šō·ḇêr)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7665: To break, break in pieces

the supply
מַטֵּה־ (maṭ·ṭêh-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

of food
לֶ֙חֶם֙ (le·ḥem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3899: Food, bread, grain

in Jerusalem.
בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם (bî·rū·šā·lim)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel

They will anxiously
וּבִדְאָגָ֑ה (ū·ḇiḏ·’ā·ḡāh)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1674: Anxiety, anxious care

eat
וְאָכְלוּ־ (wə·’ā·ḵə·lū-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 398: To eat

bread
לֶ֥חֶם (le·ḥem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3899: Food, bread, grain

rationed by weight,
בְּמִשְׁקָ֖ל (bə·miš·qāl)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4948: Weight, weighing

and in despair
וּבְשִׁמָּמ֖וֹן (ū·ḇə·šim·mā·mō·wn)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8078: Stupefaction

they will drink
יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃ (yiš·tū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8354: To imbibe

water
וּמַ֕יִם (ū·ma·yim)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen

by measure.
בִּמְשׂוּרָ֥ה (bim·śū·rāh)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4884: A measure


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OT Prophets: Ezekiel 4:16 Moreover he said to me Son (Ezek. Eze Ezk)
Ezekiel 4:15
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