Ezekiel 4 · Verse 15

Ezekiel 4:15

Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.

Ezekiel 4:15, King James Version

Ezekiel 4:15 in other translations

BSB	“Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.”
WEB	Then he said to me, “Behold, I have given you cow’s dung for man’s dung, and you shall prepare your bread on it.”
ASV	Then he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread thereon.
YLT	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.'
DARBY	And he said unto me, See, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
BBE	Then he said to me, See, I have given you cow's waste in place of man's waste, and you will make your bread ready on it.
Webster	Then he said to me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread with them.

What does Ezekiel 4:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

15. cow's dung--a mitigation of the former order (Eze 4:12); no longer "the dung of man"; still the bread so baked is "defiled," to imply that, whatever partial abatement there might be for the prophet's sake, the main decree of God, as to the pollution of Israel by exile among Gentiles, is unalterable.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · 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 4:15 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.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559

אֵלַ֔י'e.Laito meH413

רְאֵ֗הre.'EhseeH7200

נָתַ֤תִּֽיna.Ta.tiI giveH5414

לְךָ֙le.Khato you

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

צְפִיעֵ֣יtze.fu.'ei[the] dung<s> ofH6832

הַבָּקָ֔רha.ba.Kar<the> cattleH1241

תַּ֖חַתTa.chatin place ofH8478

גֶּלְלֵ֣יge.Lei[the] dung<s> ofH1561

הָֽאָדָ֑םha.'a.Dam<the> humankindH120

וְעָשִׂ֥יתָve.'a.Si.taand you will makeH6213

אֶֽת\־'et-<obj.>H853

לַחְמְךָ֖lach.me.Khabread yourH3899

עֲלֵיהֶֽם\׃\ \ס'a.lei.Hemon themH5921

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

cow's dung.Dried cow-dung is a common fuel in the East, as it is in many parts of England, to the present day; but the prophet was ordered to prepare his bread with human ordure, to shew the extreme degree of wretchedness to which the besieged should be exposed, as they would be obliged literally to use it, from not being able to leave the city to collect other fuel.
15

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

Context

Ezekiel 4:14
Then 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.
Ezekiel 4:15
Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
Ezekiel 4:16
Moreover 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:

Read all of Ezekiel 4

Ezekiel 4:15 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y respondióme: He aquí te doy estiércoles de bueyes en lugar de los estiércoles de hombre, y dispondrás tu pan con ellos.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et il me dit: Regarde, je t’ai donné la fiente du bétail au lieu des excréments de l’homme, et tu cuiras ton pain sur elle.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er sprach zu mir: Siehe, ich habe dir Rindermist statt Menschenkot gestattet; und darauf magst du dein Brot bereiten.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et dixit ad me: Ecce dedi tibi fimum boum pro stercoribus humanis, et facies panem tuum in eo.