Keraia
Ezekiel 4

Ezekiel 4:6

A Sign of Jerusalem’s Siege · Ezekiel 4:1–8
Read Ezekiel 4

Translations

Modern
When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned to you 40 days, a day for each year.
Traditional
And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Literal
And you shall complete these, and you shall lie down on your right side this second time, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days—a day for a year. A day for a year I have given for you.
Latin
Et cum compleveris hæc, dormies super latus tuum dexterum secundo, et assumes iniquitatem domus Juda quadraginta diebus: diem pro anno, diem, inquam, pro anno, dedi tibi.

Original

Hebrew
English
When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned to you 40 days, a day for each year.

Notes

Ezekiel 4:6

  • Judah refers to the community of people living in exile. Their time away from the land is pictured as 40 years. This number suggests that they were like a lost generation. It recalls the generation that wandered 40 years in the wilderness because of their sin (Numbers 14:34).

  • The 430 days of Ezekiel’s confinement (Ezekiel 4:5) match the 430 years that Israel lived in Egypt (Exodus 12:40). This parallel suggests hope. Just as God once led his people out of Egypt, he would bring them out of exile. It points to the promise of a new exodus at the end of the exile.

Ezekiel 4:4–8

The prophet’s second sign act was connected to the first. This time, he acted out the roles of both God and the people suffering during the siege.

As someone suffering in the siege, he was tied with ropes (Ezekiel 4:8). He had to lie in one position. He may not have stayed like this all the time during the 14 months. Instead, he may have performed this sign each day.

When Ezekiel represented Israel, he symbolically bore Israel’s sins. This means he acted out the weight of their guilt by lying on one side. However, he did not bring atonement (the removal of sin) or forgiveness to Israel.

Ezekiel 4:1–7:27

These chapters discuss words and actions that warned of disaster for Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4–5) and the land of Judah (Ezekiel 6–7).

Events

People

Judah: Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province

Glossary

Ezekiel (Person) Ezekiel, Book of Prophet, Prophetess Son of Man

Topics

Day: Prophetical, a Year Forty: Days: Symbolical Instruction by Object Lessons: Lying on One Side in Public View for a Long Period Pantomime by Ezekiel Prophets: Frequently in Their Actions Were Made Signs to the People Symbols and Similitudes: Posture