1“Now, son of man, take a block of clay, and lay it in front of you, and draw the city of Jerusalem upon it; 2And then portray a siege against it, building a fort and casting a siege mound against it; also set up camps against it, and set battering rams all around it. 3Then take an iron skillet, and place it like an iron wall between you and the city; and turn your face toward it, and portray how severely it (Jerusalem) shall be besieged, as you lay siege against it. This shall be a warning sign to the people of Israel.

4“Lie upon your left side, and take the iniquity of the people of Israel upon yourself; you are to bear the iniquity of the people of Israel for the number of days that you lie on your side. 5For I have laid upon you the same number of days as the years of their iniquity - three hundred ninety days; so shall you bear the iniquity of the people of Israel. 6And after you have completed them (390 days), lie down again, on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the people of Judah for forty days; I have assigned you a day for each year. 7Therefore, you shall turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy her destruction. 8And I will also tie you with ropes, and you shall not be able to turn from one side to another, until you have finished the days of your siege.

9“Also take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, and put them in one jar, and make bread of it, according to the number of the days that you shall lie upon your side; three hundred ninety days shall you eat it. 10And weigh out your food which you shall eat each day, twenty shekels a day; and eat at set times. 11You shall also drink water by measure; a sixth of a hin shall you drink at set times. 12And you shall eat it as barley cakes, and you shall bake it, with dung that comes out of man, in the sight of the people.” 13And the LORD said, “Even thus shall the people of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations where I will drive them.” 14Then I said, “Ah, not so, LORD God! Behold, I have never so defiled myself; for from my youth up until now, I have not eaten anything that dies of itself, or is torn in pieces; nor did I let any abominable food enter my mouth.” 15Then He said to me, “Look, I have given you cow's dung instead of man's dung, and you shall bake your bread on it.” 16Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem; and they shall eat bread carefully measured by weight; and they shall drink measured water, and with despair; 17For food and water will be scarce, and they shall be dismayed when they look at each other, and waste away for their sin.”