An Attack on Jerusalem Is Pictured

4 “Son of man, get a clay tablet. Put it in front of you. Draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2Then pretend to surround it and attack it. Make some little models of war machines. Build a ramp up to it. Set camps up around it. Surround it with models of logs to be used for knocking down its gates. 3Then get an iron pan. Put it between you and the city. Pretend it is an iron wall. Turn your face toward the city. It will be under attack when you begin to attack it. That will show the people of Israel what is going to happen to Jerusalem.

4“Next, lie down on your left side. Pretend that you are putting Israel’s sin on yourself. Keep their sin on you for the number of days you lie on your side. 5Let each day you lie there stand for one year of their sin. So you will keep Israel’s sin on you for 390 days.

6“After you have finished that, lie down again. This time lie on your right side. Pretend that you are putting Judah’s sin on yourself. Lie there for 40 days. That is one day for each year of their sin.

7“Next, turn your face toward the model of Jerusalem under attack. Uncover your arm as if you were a soldier ready to fight. Prophesy against the city.

8“I will tie you up with ropes. Then you will not be able to turn from one side to the other. You will stay that way until you have finished attacking Jerusalem.

9“Get some wheat and barley. Also get some beans and lentils. And get some millet and spelt. Put everything in a storage jar. Use it to make some bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days you are lying down on your side. 10Weigh out eight ounces of food to eat each day. Eat it at your regular mealtimes. 11Also measure out two thirds of a quart of water. Drink it at your regular mealtimes.

12“Eat your food as you would eat a barley cake. Bake it over human waste in front of the people.” 13The Lord said, “That is how the people of Israel will eat ‘unclean’ food. They will eat it in the nations where I will drive them.”

14Then I said, “No, Lord and King! I won’t do it! I’ve never eaten anything that was ‘unclean.’ From the time I was young until now, I’ve never eaten anything that was found dead. And I’ve never eaten anything that was torn apart by wild animals. ‘Unclean’ meat has never entered my mouth.”

15“All right,” he said. “I will let you bake your bread over waste from cows. You can use that instead of human waste.”

16He continued, “Son of man, I will cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will be worried as they eat their tiny share of food. They will not have any hope as they drink their tiny share of water. 17There will be very little food and water. The people will be shocked as they look at one another. They will become weaker and weaker because of their sin.

5 “Son of man, get a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor. Shave your head and beard with it. Then get a set of scales and weigh the hair. Separate it into three piles.

2“Burn up a third of the hair inside the city. Do it when you stop attacking the model of Jerusalem. Next, get another third of the hair. Strike it with a sword all around the city. Then scatter the last third to the winds. That is because I will chase the people with a sword that is ready to strike them down. 3But save a few of the hairs. Tuck them away in the clothes you are wearing.

4“Next, get a few more hairs. Throw them into the fire. Burn them up. The fire will spread to all of the people of Israel.”

5The Lord and King says, “This little model stands for Jerusalem. I have placed that city in the center of the nations. Countries are all around it. 6But its people are sinful. They have refused to obey my laws and rules. They have turned their backs on my laws. They have not followed my rules. Those people are worse than the nations and countries around them.”

7The Lord and King continues, “You people have been worse than the nations around you. You have not lived by my rules or kept my laws. You have not even lived up to the standards of the nations around you.”

8The Lord and King continues, “Jerusalem, I myself am against you. I will punish you in the sight of the nations. 9I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. That is because you worship statues of gods. I hate them. 10So parents will eat their own children inside the city. And children will eat their parents. I will punish you. And I will scatter to the winds anyone who is left alive.

11“You have made my temple ‘unclean.’ You have set up statues of all of your evil gods. You have done other things I hate. So I will not show you my favor anymore. I will not spare you or feel sorry for you. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.

12“A third of your people will die of the plague inside your walls. Or they will die of hunger there. Another third will be killed with swords outside your walls. And I will scatter the last third of your people to the winds. I will chase them with a sword that is ready to strike them down.

13“Then I will not be angry anymore. My burning anger against them will die down. And I will be satisfied. Then they will know that I have spoken with strong feelings. And my burning anger toward them will come to an end. I am the Lord.

14“I will destroy you. I will bring shame on you in the sight of the nations that are around you. All those who pass by will see it. 15You will be put to shame. The nations will make fun of you. You will serve as a warning to others. They will be shocked when they see you. So I will punish you because my anger burns against you. You will feel the sting of my warning. I have spoken. I am the Lord.

16“I will shoot at you with my deadly, destroying arrows of hunger. I will shoot to kill. I will bring more and more hunger on you. I will cut off your food supply. 17I will send hunger and wild animals against you. They will destroy all of your children. Plague and murder will sweep over you. And I will send swords to kill you. I have spoken. I am the Lord.”