The Skeptics Annotated Bible (622 page)

4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.

5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

(4.4-5)
“Lie thou also upon thy left side … three hundred and ninety days.”

6 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.

(4.6)
“And … lie again on thy right side … forty days”

7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

8 And,
behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days
of thy siege.

(4.8)
“Behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days.”

(4.9-15) Ezekiel 4.9 bread: It’s supposed to be made according to the recipe given in this verse and is said to be a complete meal that satisfies all nutritional requirements. It seems like pretty good bread to me, too, but it is missing the secret ingredient provided in 4.12.

9
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof
, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.

(4.9)
“Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof.”

10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

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

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

(4.12)
“Thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man.”

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

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.

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.

(4.15) “Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.”

(4.16-17) God punishes everyone in Israel with a drought and famine.

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:

(4.16)
“Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem.”

17
That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.

(4.17)
“That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.”

(5.1-4) God tells Ezekiel to shave his head and beard, divide the cut hair into thirds, burn one portion, smite the second portion about with a knife, and scatter the third in the wind, except for a few strands that Ezekiel is supposed to put in his skirt and then burn later in a fire.

5
And thou,
son of man, take thee a sharp knife
, take thee a barber’s razor,
and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair
.

(5.1)
“Son of man, take thee a sharp knife … and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.”

2
Thou shalt burn with fire a third part
in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled:
and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind
; and I will draw out a sword after them.

(5.2)
“Thou shalt burn with fire a third part … and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind.”

3
Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.

(5.3)
“Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts.”

4
Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire
; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

(5.4)
“Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire.”

5 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.

6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

7 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;

8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

9 And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.

10 Therefore
the fathers shall eat the sons
in the midst of thee
, and the sons shall eat their fathers
; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.

(5.10)
“The fathers shall eat the sons … and the sons shall eat their fathers.”
God will force fathers to eat their sons and the sons to eat their fathers.