1 T hou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:

“Now, son of man, get a hard clay block. Set it down in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.

2 A nd lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.

Then build a battle-wall around it to shut it in, and build a hill of dirt against the wall. Cut down trees and lay them on wheels all around the city, to use for breaking down the walls.

3 M oreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

Then get an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city, and turn your face toward it. It will be shut in, and you will fight a battle against it. This will be something special for the people of Israel to see.

4 L ie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.

“Then lie on your left side, and I will lay the sin of the people of Israel upon you. You will be under the weight of their sin for the number of days that you lie on your side.

5 F or I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

I have set a number of days for you which is the same as the number of years of their sin, 390 days. This is how long you must be under the weight of the sin of the people of Israel.

6 A nd when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.

When you have completed these, you must lie down a second time, but on your right side. And you must be under the weight of the sin of the people of Judah. I have set a time of forty days for you to do this, one day for each year.

7 T herefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

Then you must turn your face toward the battle against Jerusalem with no covering on your arm, and tell what will happen against the city.

8 A nd, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.

I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, until you have completed the days of your battle.

9 T ake thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

“Take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt and put them in one pot, and make them into bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days that you lie on your side.

10 A nd thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

The food you eat each day will weigh as much as twenty pieces of silver, and will have to last until the next day.

11 T hou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

And the water you drink each day will be enough to fill a bottle. You will drink it from time to time.

12 A nd thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.

Eat your food as you would barley cakes, making it ready in front of their eyes over a fire burning human waste.”

13 A nd the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.

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

14 T hen 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.

But I said, “O Lord God! See, I have never been unclean. Since I was young until now, I have never eaten what died of itself or what was torn by wild animals. No unclean meat has ever come into my mouth.”

15 T hen he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.

So He said to me, “Then I will let you make your bread over cow’s waste instead of human waste.”

16 M oreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:

And He said to me, “Son of man, I am going to take away the bread that is needed in Jerusalem. They will weigh the bread they eat and they will drink water from small cups, and be afraid

17 T hat they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.

because there will not be enough bread and water. They will look at one another in fear, and waste away in their sin.