Ezekiel 4 · Verse 12

Ezekiel 4:12

And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
Ezekiel 4:12, King James Version

Ezekiel 4:12 in other translations

BSBAnd you shall eat the food as you would a barley cake, after you bake it over dried human excrement in the sight of the people.”
WEBYou shall eat it as barley cakes, and you shall bake it in their sight with dung that comes out of man.”
ASVAnd thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.
YLTA barley-cake thou dost eat it, and it with dung--the filth of man--thou dost bake before their eyes.
DARBYAnd thou shalt eat it as barley-cake, and thou shalt bake it in their sight with dung that cometh out of man.
BBEAnd let your food be barley cakes, cooking it before their eyes with the waste which comes out of a man.
WebsterAnd thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with human excrement in their sight.

What does Ezekiel 4:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. dung--as fuel; so the Arabs use beasts' dung, wood fuel being scarce. But to use human dung so implies the most cruel necessity. It was in violation of the law (De 14:3; 23:12-14); it must therefore have been done only in vision.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 Thou shalt bake it with dung - Dried ox and cow dung is a common fuel in the east; and with this, for want of wood and coals, they are obliged to prepare their food. Indeed, dried excrement of every kind is gathered. Here, the prophet is to prepare his bread with dry human excrement. And when we know that this did not come in contact with the bread, and was only used to warm the plate, (see Eze 4:3), on which the bread was laid over the fire, it removes all the horror and much of the disgust. This was required to show the extreme degree of wretchedness to which they should be exposed; for, not being able to leave the city to collect the dried excrements of beasts, the inhabitants during the siege would be obliged, literally, to use dried human ordure for fuel. The very circumstances show that this was the plain fact of the case. However, we find that the prophet was relieved from using this kind of fuel, for cow's dung was substituted at his request. See Eze 4:15.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 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…

Read the full comment on Ezekiel 4:9-17 →

Ezekiel 4:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְעֻגַ֥תve.'u.Gatand a bread cake ofH5692
שְׂעֹרִ֖יםse.'o.Rimbarley<s>H8184
תֹּֽאכֲלֶ֑נָּהto.kha.Le.nahyou will eat itH398
וְהִ֗יאve.Hi'and itH1931
בְּגֶֽלְלֵי֙be.ge.Leiin [the] dung<s> ofH1561
צֵאַ֣תtze.'At[the] excrement ofH6627
הָֽאָדָ֔םha.'a.Dam<the> humankindH120
תְּעֻגֶ֖נָהte.'u.Ge.nahyou will bake itH5746
לְעֵינֵיהֶֽם\׃\ \סle.'ei.nei.Hemto eyes theirH5869

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ezekiel 4:12

  • Isaiah 36:12

    But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?

  • Genesis 18:6

    And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cake. a "round" thing.
Ge 18:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Ezekiel 4:11

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

  • Ezekiel 4:12

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

  • Ezekiel 4:13

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

Read all of Ezekiel 4

Ezekiel 4:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y comerás pan de cebada cocido debajo de la ceniza; y lo cocerás á vista de ellos con los estiércoles que salen del hombre.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et tu mangeras cela préparé comme un gâteau d’orge, et tu le cuiras sous leurs yeux avec des excréments sortis de l’homme.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und wie Gerstenkuchen sollst du sie essen, und du sollst sie auf Ballen von Menschenkot vor ihren Augen backen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et quasi subcinericium hordeaceum comedes illud, et stercore quod egreditur de homine operies illud in oculis eorum.