Ezekiel 4:14

14 Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign LORD! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.”

Ezekiel 4:14 in Other Translations

14 Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

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 tainted meat come into my mouth."

14 Then I said, “O Sovereign LORD, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or was killed by other animals. I have never eaten any meat forbidden by the law.”

14 I said, "God, my Master! Never! I've never contaminated myself with food like that. Since my youth I've never eaten anything forbidden by law, nothing found dead or violated by wild animals. I've never taken a single bite of forbidden food."

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."

Ezekiel 4:14 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 4:14

Then said I, ah, Lord God!
&c.] The interjection "ah" is expressive of sighing and groaning, as Jarchi; or of deprecation, as the Targum, which paraphrases it,

``"and I said", receive my prayer, O Lord God:''

behold, my soul hath not been polluted;
not meaning that his soul had not been polluted with sin, or with an evil thought, as Kimchi interprets it; but by his soul he means the inward part of his body, his stomach and belly; which had not been defiled by taking in meats which were unclean by the law, as follows: for from my youth up, even till now, have I not eaten of that which
dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces;
these were forbidden to be eaten by the law; and such that did were defiled, and obliged to bathing in water, ( Leviticus 17:15 Leviticus 17:16 ) ; and from those the priests more especially were careful to abstain, as Kimchi observes; and such an one was the prophet; see ( Acts 10:14 ) ; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth;
corrupt or, putrefied, or whatsoever was unclean by law, as swine's flesh, or any other. The argument is, that since he had never eaten of anything forbidden by the law of God, he could by no means think of eating that which was abhorrent to nature; as bread baked with men's dung was.

Ezekiel 4:14 In-Context

12 Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.”

13 The LORD said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”

14 Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign LORD! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.”

15 “Very well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”

16 He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 1:6; Ezekiel 9:8; Ezekiel 20:49
• 2. S Leviticus 11:39
• 3. S Exodus 22:31; Deuteronomy 14:3; Deuteronomy 32:37-38; Daniel 1:8; Hosea 9:3-4; Acts 10:14