Ezekiel 4:16
in Ezekiel 4Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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:
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:
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This verse in Ezekiel 4
Commentary
3 notes on this verseon Ezekiel 4:16-17
(Verse 16, 17.) And 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 anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and with dismay; so that when bread and water are lacking, each one shall stumble to his brother, and they shall waste away in their iniquities. The Hebrew word Mate () is interpreted as staff in the first edition of Aquila, and as firmament in the second edition and by Symmachus and Theodotion.
This site's exposition
I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem
on Ezekiel 4:16-17
The sign is now interpreted directly: the Lord himself will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, so that bread is eaten by weight and with care and water drunk by measure and with astonishment. The purpose is stated as plainly as the judgment: that they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity. Henry reads staff of bread as the ordinary figure for bread as the support of life, snapped rather than merely reduced, so the picture is collapse rather than mere shortage. Clarke notes that the chapter's whole apparatus of tile, iron pan, weighed food, and bound body converges on this one plain sentence, the acted sign finally translated into a statement any hearer could not miss.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will break the staff of bread - They shall be besieged till all the bread is consumed, till the famine becomes absolute; see 2Ki 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 2Ki 25:6 observes: “This number of years will take us back, with sufficient exactness, from the year in which Jerusalem was sacked by Nebuchadnezzar to the first year of Jeroboam’s reign, when national idolatry began in Israel.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֗י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָם֙ | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| שֹׁבֵ֤ר | shover | [am] about to break | H7665 → | 147 times |
| מַטֵּה־ | mateh- | [the] staff of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| לֶ֙חֶם֙ | lechem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְאָכְלוּ־ | veakhelu- | and they will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| לֶ֥חֶם | lechem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| בְּמִשְׁקָ֖ל | bemishkal | by weight | H4948 → | |
| וּבִדְאָגָ֑ה | uvidagah | and in anxiety | H1674 → | 6 times |
| וּמַ֕יִם | umayim | and water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| בִּמְשׂוּרָ֥ה | bimsurah | by measure | H4884 → | |
| וּבְשִׁמָּמ֖וֹן | uveshimamon | and in horror | H8078 → | |
| יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃ | yishtu | they will drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֗יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָם֙humankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
שֹׁבֵ֤ר[am] about to break
shoverH7665 →147 times
מַטֵּה־[the] staff of
mateh-H4294 →252 times
לֶ֙חֶם֙bread
lechemH3899 →298 times
בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
וְאָכְלוּ־and they will eat
veakhelu-H398 →810 times
לֶ֥חֶםbread
lechemH3899 →298 times
בְּמִשְׁקָ֖לby weight
bemishkalH4948 →
וּבִדְאָגָ֑הand in anxiety
uvidagahH1674 →6 times
וּמַ֕יִםand water
umayimH4325 →581 times
בִּמְשׂוּרָ֥הby measure
bimsurahH4884 →
וּבְשִׁמָּמ֖וֹןand in horror
uveshimamonH8078 →
יִשְׁתּֽוּ׃they will drink
yishtuH8354 →217 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 105:16He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
it leads to
- 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,
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 41:54
the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. And although there was famine in every country, there was food throughout the land of Egypt.
- Acts 7:11
Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
- Isaiah 3:1
Through
Isaiah 3:1For 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,
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 14:13
“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by acting unfaithfully, and I stretch out My hand against it to cut off its supply of food, to send famine upon it, and to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 1:24
Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.
- Leviticus 26:26
Through
Leviticus 26:26When 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.
it leads to
- 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.
- Psalms 105:16
He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
- Micah 6:14
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.