Ezekiel 4:3

3 Then take an iron griddle and place it between you and the city. Turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege will be against Jerusalem. This will be a warning to the people of Israel.

Ezekiel 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 4:3

Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan
Which Kimchi thinks, for its metal, represented the hardness of the hearts of the people of Israel; and, for its colour, the blackness of their sins: though others are of opinion, this being a pan in which things are fried, it may signify the miseries of the Jews in captivity; the roasting of Ahab and Zedekiah in the fire, and particularly the burning of the city: others, the wrath of God against them, and his resolution to destroy them: but rather, since the use of it was as follows, and set it [for] a wall of iron between thee and the city,
it seems to represent all such things as are made use of by besiegers to screen them from the besieged; such as are now used are trenches, parapets, bastions for the prophet in this type is the besieger, representing the Chaldean army secure from the annoyance of those within the walls of the city: and set thy face against it;
with a firm resolution to besiege and take the city; which denotes both the settled wrath of God against this people, and the determined purpose of the king of Babylon not to move from it until he had taken it: and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it;
as an emblem of the army of the Chaldeans besieging it, which is confirmed by the next clause: this [shall be] a sign to the house of Israel;
of the city of Jerusalem being besieged by the Babylonians; this was a sign representing it, and giving them assurance of it.

Ezekiel 4:3 In-Context

1 “And now, son of man, take a large clay brick and set it down in front of you. Then draw a map of the city of Jerusalem on it.

2 Show the city under siege. Build a wall around it so no one can escape. Set up the enemy camp, and surround the city with siege ramps and battering rams.

3 Then take an iron griddle and place it between you and the city. Turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege will be against Jerusalem. This will be a warning to the people of Israel.

4 “Now lie on your left side and place the sins of Israel on yourself. You are to bear their sins for the number of days you lie there on your side.

5 I am requiring you to bear Israel’s sins for 390 days—one day for each year of their sin.