Revised Standard Version RSV
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 "And you, O son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem;
1
[The LORD said,] "Son of man, take clay, put it in front of you, and draw a map of Jerusalem on it.
2 and put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about.
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Set up a blockade against it, build attack walls around it, put up dirt ramps around it, have troops ready to attack it, and place battering rams all around it.
3 And take an iron plate, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.
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Then take an iron pan, and set it up as a wall between you and the city. Turn your face toward the city as if you were going to attack it, and then attack it. This is a sign for the people of Israel.
4 "Then lie upon your left side, and I will lay the punishment of the house of Israel upon you; for the number of the days that you lie upon it, you shall bear their punishment.
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"Then lie on your left side and take the punishment of the nation of Israel yourself. You will bear its punishment as many days as you lie on that side.
5 For I assign to you a number of days, three hundred and ninety days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment; so long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel.
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I have assigned to you one day for each year its punishment will last. So for 390 days, you will bear the punishment for the sins of the nation of Israel.
6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, a day for each year.
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When you finish this, you will lie down again, this time on your right side. You will bear the punishment for the sins of the nation of Judah for 40 days, one day for each year I have assigned to you.
7 And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared; and you shall prophesy against the city.
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Turn your face toward the blockaded Jerusalem. Shake your fist and prophesy against it.
8 And, behold, I will put cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege.
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I will tie you up with ropes so that you will not be able to turn from one side to the other until you have finished attacking [Jerusalem].
9 "And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt, and put them into a single vessel, and make bread of them. During the number of days that you lie upon your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it.
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"Then take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and winter wheat. Put them in a container, and use them to make bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days that you are lying on your side.
10 And the food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; once a day you shall eat it.
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The food that you eat should be weighed. Eat eight ounces of food every day at set times.
11 And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; once a day you shall drink.
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Measure out two-thirds of a quart of water, and drink it at set times.
12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung."
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Eat the bread as you would eat barley loaves. Bake the bread in front of people, using human excrement for fuel."
13 And the LORD said, "Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations whither I will drive them."
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Then the LORD said, "In the same way, the people of Israel will eat unclean bread among the nations where I scatter them."
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 foul flesh come into my mouth."
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I answered, "Almighty LORD, I have never dishonored myself. From the time I was young until now, I have never eaten an animal that died by itself or was killed by other wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth."
15 Then he said to me, "See, I will let you have cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread."
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He said to me, "I will let you use cow manure in place of human excrement. Bake your bread over it."
16 Moreover he said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay.
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He also said to me, "Son of man, I am going to cut off the bread supply in Jerusalem. People will anxiously eat rationed bread and fearfully drink rationed water.
17 I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and waste away under their punishment.
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They will be shocked at the sight of each other because of the lack of food and water. They will waste away because of their sin."
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.