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
7 notes on this verse(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
cut off the supply of food
on Ezekiel 4:16-17
The Lord says what the sign meant: “I am going to cut off the supply of food.” The Hebrew pictures bread as a staff that holds up life, as Henry explains. Their end is named: “they will be appalled at the sight of one another wasting away in their iniquity.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Moreover he said unto me, son of man,.... What follows opens the design, and shows what was intended by the symbol of the miscellany bread, baked with cow dung, the prophet was to eat by measure, as, well as drink water by measure: namely, the sore famine that should be in Jerusalem at the time of the siege: behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: that is, take away bread, which is the staff of life, the support of it, and which strengthens man's heart; and also the nourishing virtue and efficacy from what they had.
The prophet is here ordered to represent to himself and others by signs which would be proper and powerful to strike the fancy and to affect the mind, the siege of Jerusalem; and this amounted to a prediction. He was ordered to engrave a draught of Jerusalem upon a tile,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
staff of bread--bread by which life is supported, as a man's weight is by the staff he leans on (Le 26:26; Isa 3:1). by weight, and with care--in scant measure (Eze 4:10).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The 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.
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.