[1] "And you, O son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and portray
upon it a city, even Jerusalem; [2] and put siegeworks against it, and
build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps
also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about. [3] And
take an iron plate, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city;
and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press
the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. [4] "Then lie
upon your left side, and I will lay the punishment of the house of Israel
upon you; for the number of the days that you lie upon it, you shall bear
their punishment. [5] For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred
and ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; so
long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. [6] And when you
have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right
side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign
you, a day for each year. [7] And you shall set your face toward the siege
of Jerusalem, with your arm bared; and you shall prophesy against the city.
[8] And, behold, I will put cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from
one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege. [9]
"And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt, and
put them into a single vessel, and make bread of them. During the number of
days that you lie upon your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall
eat it. [10] And the food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels
a day; once a day you shall eat it. [11] And water you shall drink by
measure, the sixth part of a hin; once a day you shall drink. [12] And you
shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung."
[13] And the LORD said, "Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread
unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them." [14] Then I said,
"Ah Lord GOD! behold, I have never defiled myself; from my youth up till
now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has
foul flesh come into my mouth." [15] Then he said to me, "See, I will let
you have cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your
bread." [16] Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will 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. [17] I
will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in
dismay, and waste away under their punishment.
