Ezekiel 4:8

8 Be aware that I will put cords on you so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.

Ezekiel 4:8 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 4:8

And, behold, I will lay hands upon thee
Representing either the besieged, signifying that they should be taken and bound as he was; or rather the besiegers, the Chaldean army, which should be so held by the power and providence of God, that they should not break up the siege until they had taken the city, and fulfilled the whole will and pleasure of God; for these bands were an emblem of the firm and unalterable decree of God, respecting the siege and taking of Jerusalem; and so the Targum paraphrases it,

``and, lo, the decree of my word is upon thee, as a band of ropes;''

and to this sense Jarchi interprets it; and which is confirmed by what follows: and thou shall not turn thee from one side to another till thou hast
ended the days of thy siege;
showing that the Chaldean army should not depart from Jerusalem until it was taken; for though, upon the report of the Egyptian army coming against them, they went forth to meet it; yet they returned to Jerusalem, and never left the siege till the city fell into their hands, according to the purpose and appointment of God. Kimchi that the word for siege is in the plural number, and signifies both the "siege" of Samaria and the siege of Jerusalem; but the former was over many years before this time: by this it appears that the siege of Jerusalem should last three hundred and ninety days; indeed, from the beginning to the end of it, were seventeen months, ( 2 Kings 25:1-4 ) ; but the siege being raised by the army of the king of Egypt for some time, ( Jeremiah 37:5 ) , may reduce it to thirteen months, or thereabout; for three hundred and ninety days are not only intended to signify the years of Israel's sin and wickedness, but also to show how long the city would be besieged; and so long the prophet in this symbolical way was besieging it.

Ezekiel 4:8 In-Context

6 When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

7 You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and prophesy against it.

8 Be aware that I will put cords on you so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege.

9 "Also take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt. Put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the number of days you lie on your side, 390 days.

10 The food you eat each day will be eight ounces by weight; you will eat it from time to time.