Ezekiel 4:15

15 He replied to me, "Look, I will let you [use] cow dung instead of human excrement, and you can make your bread over that."

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 The Lord said, "This is how the Israelites will eat their bread-ceremonially unclean-among the nations where I will banish them."

14 But I said, "Ah, Lord God , I have never been defiled. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts. And impure meat has never entered my mouth."

15 He replied to me, "Look, I will let you [use] cow dung instead of human excrement, and you can make your bread over that."

16 Then He said to me, "Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread [rationed] by weight and in dread drink water by measure.

17 So they will lack bread and water; everyone will be devastated and waste away because of their iniquity.