Ezekiel 4:15

15 He answered, "All right, I will give you cow dung to use instead of human dung, and you can prepare your bread on it."

Ezekiel 4:15 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 4:15

Then he said to me
The Lord hearkened to the prophet's prayer and argument, and makes some abatement and alteration in the charge he gave him: lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung:
that is, allowed him to make use of the one instead of the other, in baking his mingled bread: thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith;
having gathered cow's dung, and dried it, he was to burn it, and bake his bread with it, which is meant by preparing it. In some parts of our nation, where fuel is scarce, cow's dung is made use of; it is gathered and plastered on the walls of houses, and, being dried in clots, is taken and burnt.

Ezekiel 4:15 In-Context

13 ADONAI said, "This is how the people of Isra'el will eat their food - unclean - in the nations where I am driving them."

14 I objected: "No, Adonai ELOHIM! I have never defiled myself - from my youth until now I have never eaten anything that died by itself or was killed by wild animals; no such disgusting food has ever entered my mouth."

15 He answered, "All right, I will give you cow dung to use instead of human dung, and you can prepare your bread on it."

16 He then said to me, "Human being, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Yerushalayim, so that they will anxiously weigh out bread to eat, and, horrified, ration water to drink.

17 Finally, due to lack of bread and water, they will stare at each other in shock, wasting away because of their guilt."