9 'And thou, take to thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and spelt, and thou hast put them in one vessel, and made them to thee for bread; the number of the days that thou art lying on thy side—three hundred and ninety days—thou dost eat it. 10 And thy food that thou dost eat 'is' by weight, twenty shekels daily; from time to time thou dost eat it. 11 'And water by measure thou dost drink, a sixth part of the hin; from time to time thou dost drink 'it'. 12 A barley-cake thou dost eat it, and it with dung—the filth of man—thou dost bake before their eyes. 13 And Jehovah saith, 'Thus do the sons of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations whither I drive them.' 14 And I say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, lo, my soul is not defiled, and carcase, and torn thing, I have not eaten from my youth, even till now; nor come into my mouth hath abominable flesh.' 15 And He saith unto me, 'See, I have given to thee bullock's dung instead of man's dung, and thou hast made thy bread by it.' 16 And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, lo, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they have eaten bread by weight and with fear; and water by measure and with astonishment, they do drink; 17 so that they lack bread and water, and have been astonished one with another, and been consumed in their iniquity.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ezekiel 4:9-17
Commentary on Ezekiel 4:9-17
(Read Ezekiel 4:9-17)
The bread which was Ezekiel's support, was to be made of coarse grain and pulse mixed together, seldom used except in times of urgent scarcity, and of this he was only to take a small quantity. Thus was figured the extremity to which the Jews were to be reduced during the siege and captivity. Ezekiel does not plead, Lord, from my youth I have been brought up delicately, and never used to any thing like this; but that he had been brought up conscientiously, and never had eaten any thing forbidden by the law. It will be comfortable when we are brought to suffer hardships, if our hearts can witness that we have always been careful to keep even from the appearance of evil. See what woful work sin makes, and acknowledge the righteousness of God herein. Their plenty having been abused to luxury and excess, they were justly punished by famine. When men serve not God with cheerfulness in the abundance of all things, God will make them serve their enemies in the want of all things.