| Thou son of man, take thee a tile stone, and lay it before thee, and describe upon it the city of Jerusalem, how it is besieged, how bulwarks and strong ditches are graven on every side of it: describe also the tents, and an host of men round about it.
Moreover, take an iron pan, and set it between thee and the city, instead of an iron wall. Then set thy face toward it, besiege it, and lay ordinance against it, to win it. This shall be a token unto the house of Israel. But thou shall sleep upon thy left side, and lay the sin of the house of Israel upon thee. Certain days appointed, thou shalt sleep upon that side, and bear their sins. Nevertheless, I will appoint thee a time ( to put out their sins ) and the number of the days: Three hundred and ninety days must thou bear the wickedness of the house of Israel. When thou hast fulfilled these days lie again, and sleep upon thy right side forty days, and bear the sins of the house of Judah.
A day for a year, a day ( I say ) for a year will I ever lay upon thee. Therefore set now thy face against that besieged Jerusalem, and discover thine arm, that thou may prophesy against it.
Behold, I will lay chains upon thee, that thou shalt not turn thee from me one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
Wherefore, take unto thee wheat, barley, beans, growell seed, and Millium and fitches: and put these together in a vessel, and make thee loaves of bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou must lie upon thy side: that thou mayest have bread to eat, for three hundred and ninety days.
And the meat that thou eatest, shall have a certain weight appointed: namely twenty shekels every day. This appointed meat thou shall eat daily, from the beginning to the end.
Thou shalt drink also a certain measure of water: Namely, the sixth part of an Hin shalt thou drink daily from the beginning to the end. Barley cakes shalt thou eat, yet shalt thou first strike them over with mans dung, that they may see it. And with that said the Lord: Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread in the midest of the Gentiles, among whom I will scatter them.
Then said I: Oh Lord God. Behold, my soul was yet never stained: for from my youth up to this hour. I did never eat of a dead carcass, or that which was slain of wild beasts, neither came there ever any unclean flesh in my mouth.
Where unto he answered me, and said: Well then, I will grant thee to take cows dung, for the dung of a man, and to strike the bread over with all, before them.
And he said unto me: Behold thou son of man, I will minish all the provision of bread in Jerusalem., so that they shall weigh their bread, and eat it with scarceness. But as for water, they shall have a very little measure thereof, to drink. And when they have no more bread or water, one shall be destroyed with another, and famish away for their wickedness. |
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