Ezekiel 4:12

12 And thou shalt eat it as barley bread baken under the ashes; and with the dung that goeth out of a man thou shalt cover it, before the eyes of them. (And thou shalt eat it like barley bread baked under ashes; and thou shalt cover it with the dung that goeth out of a person, before their eyes.)

Ezekiel 4:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 4:12

And thou shalt eat it [as] barley cakes
That is, the bread made of wheat, barley, beans, lentiles, millet, and fitches, was to be made in the form of barley cakes, and to be baked as they; not in an oven, but under ashes; and these ashes not of wood, or straw, or turf, but as follows: and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of men, in their
sight:
the prophet was to take human dung, and dry it, and then cover the cakes or loaves of his mixed bread with it, and burn it over them, and with it bake it; which must be a very disagreeable task to him, and make the food very nauseous, both to himself and to the Jews, in whose sight it was done; and this shows scarcity of fuel, and the severity of the famine; that they had not fuel to bake with, or could not stay till it was baked in an oven, and therefore took this method; as well as points at what they were to eat when carried captive, as follows:

Ezekiel 4:12 In-Context

10 Forsooth thy meat, which thou shalt eat, shall be in weight twenty staters in a day (And thy food, which thou shalt eat, shall be, by weight, twenty staters a day); from time till to time thou shalt eat it.

11 And thou shalt drink water in measure, the sixth part of hin (And thou shalt drink water by measure, the sixth part of a hin); from time till to time thou shalt drink it.

12 And thou shalt eat it as barley bread baken under the ashes; and with the dung that goeth out of a man thou shalt cover it, before the eyes of them. (And thou shalt eat it like barley bread baked under ashes; and thou shalt cover it with the dung that goeth out of a person, before their eyes.)

13 The Lord saith these things, So the sons of Israel shall eat their bread defouled among heathen men, to whom I shall cast them out. (The Lord saith these things, And so shall the Israelites eat their defiled bread among the heathen, to whom I shall cast them out.)

14 And I said, A! A! A! Lord God, lo! my soul is not defouled, and from my young childhood till to now I ate not a thing dead by itself, and rent of beasts; and all unclean flesh entered not into my mouth. (And I said, O! O! O! Lord God, lo! my soul is not defiled, and from my young childhood until now I have not eaten anything that died naturally, or was torn apart by beasts; and no unclean flesh hath ever entered into my mouth.)