Symbolic Acts of Siege and Judgment on Jerusalem
Ezekiel 4:1-5:17
Eze.4.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לבנה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ונתתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אותה: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- לפניך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- וחקות: VERB,piel,perf,2,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- עיר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 20:2-3 (thematic): Isaiah is commanded to walk naked and barefoot for three years as a public, physical sign against Egypt and Cush—both passages employ enacted prophetic performances to symbolize impending national humiliation and conquest.
- Jeremiah 19:1-11 (thematic): Jeremiah is told to take a potter’s earthenware jar and break it before the elders as a sign of Jerusalem’s destruction—closely parallels Ezekiel’s use of a clay object to represent the city and portray its fate.
- Jeremiah 13:1-11 (thematic): Jeremiah’s instruction to hide and later ruin a linen waistband functions as a symbolic object-lesson about Judah’s moral and political decay, similar to Ezekiel’s use of a model-brick to enact judgment on Jerusalem.
- Hosea 1:2-9 (thematic): Hosea’s symbolic marriage and the naming of his children enact Israel’s unfaithfulness and coming judgment—another example of prophetic sign-actions that communicate theological and political realities through lived symbolism.
- Ezekiel 12:3-6 (structural): Ezekiel himself performs a dramatic sign-act (packing belongings and digging through a wall to enact exile). This closely parallels Ezekiel 4:1 in genre and method: the prophet uses staged, physical actions to demonstrate Jerusalem’s impending siege and exile.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you, son of man, take a brick and place it before you; inscribe upon it a likeness of the city—Jerusalem.
- And you, Son of man, take a brick and set it before you, and inscribe on it the city—Jerusalem.
Eze.4.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- מצור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובנית: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- דיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושפכת: VERB,qal,perf,2,ms
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- סללה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונתתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- מחנות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ושים: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- כרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- סביב: ADV
Parallels
- 2 Kings 25:2 (verbal): Describes Nebuchadnezzar besieging Jerusalem and building siege-works round about the city—language and actions closely parallel Ezekiel’s command to portray a siege.
- Jeremiah 52:4-5 (verbal): Parallel account of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem that records encampment and siege-works against the city, echoing the imagery of surrounding and battering the city.
- 2 Chronicles 32:5 (thematic): Describes enemy preparations and siege tactics against Jerusalem (Sennacherib’s campaign), thematically paralleling the encampment, siegeworks, and engines placed round a city.
- Ezekiel 4:1 (structural): Immediate literary parallel within the same prophetic enactment: verse 4:1 commands making a model of Jerusalem, to which 4:2 adds the specific siege-operations to be depicted.
Alternative generated candidates
- Lay siege against it, build a siege wall and raise a ramp and cast up a mound against it; set camps against it, and place battering-rams all around.
- Lay siege against it; build a siege-mound and raise a ramp; cast up a rampart against it; set camps against it, and put siege-works round about it.
Eze.4.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- מחבת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ברזל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונתתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אותה: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- קיר: NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- ברזל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בינך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והכינתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- פניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אליה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- במצור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וצרת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- אות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- לבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cns
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:1 (structural): Immediate context: the prophet is commanded to fashion a model of Jerusalem on a tile — a closely connected symbolic, demonstrative action to the iron pan used as a barrier between him and the city.
- Ezekiel 4:4-6 (thematic): Continuation of the same sign-act program: lying on his side and other bodily demonstrations serve as enacted prophecy about siege and judgment on Israel, reinforcing the siege imagery of v.3.
- Ezekiel 5:1-4 (thematic): Another symbolic action by Ezekiel (shaving, weighing and scattering hair) that depicts famine, siege and destruction — thematically parallel depictions of Jerusalem under siege and punishment.
- Isaiah 20:2-4 (thematic): Isaiah’s public sign-act (walking naked and barefoot for three years) parallels Ezekiel’s use of symbolic actions to enact coming humiliation and defeat of a city/people.
- Jeremiah 19:1-11 (thematic): Jeremiah smashes a clay jar as a sign of Jerusalem’s irrevocable destruction and siege; like Ezekiel’s iron plate, it uses a physical object/gesture to portray impending siege and catastrophe.
Alternative generated candidates
- And take an iron pan and set it as a wall of iron between you and the city; turn your face toward it— it shall be under siege; it shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
- And take a flat iron pan and set it as an iron wall between you and the city; turn your face toward it, and it shall be shut up and besieged—it is a sign to the house of Israel.
Eze.4.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- שכב: VERB,qal,inf
- על: PREP
- צדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- השמאלי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ושמת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תשכב: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- תשא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עונם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:5-8 (verbal): Direct continuation/repetition of the same sign-act: specifies the number of days and again states the prophet shall bear the iniquity of Israel (near-verbal parallel).
- Ezekiel 5:1-4 (thematic): Another Ezekiel sign-act using the prophet's own body (hair) to symbolize Jerusalem's judgment and the consequences borne by the people—same method of embodied prophecy.
- Isaiah 20:2-3 (allusion): Isaiah performs a public, physical sign-act (walking naked and barefoot for a set period) to symbolize coming humiliation/captivity—parallels Ezekiel's use of bodily action to portray judgment.
- Jeremiah 13:1-11 (allusion): Jeremiah's symbolic use of a loincloth (wearing, hiding, and discarding it) to represent Judah's disgrace and exile—another prophetic acted parable similar in function to Ezekiel's lying on his side.
- Isaiah 53:4-6 (thematic): Theme of bearing the people's iniquities: though a different genre (suffering servant language), it resonates with Ezekiel's literal enactment of bearing Israel's sin on his body.
Alternative generated candidates
- And lie on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; number the days that you shall lie on it—you shall bear their iniquity.
- And lie on your left side, and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; the number of days that you lie on it you shall bear their iniquity.
Eze.4.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שני: NUM,m,pl,construct
- עונם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp
- למספר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שלש: NUM,card,f,sg
- מאות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ותשעים: NUM,card,90
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונשאת: VERB,qal,perf,2,ms
- עון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 14:34 (verbal): Expresses the day-for-a-year principle for punishment ("forty days... forty years") which Ezekiel invokes by numbering days to represent years of Israel's iniquity.
- Ezekiel 4:6 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same prophetic sign-act—commands another set of days (forty) to symbolize years for Judah, continuing the day‑for‑year symbolism of 4:5.
- Ezekiel 4:1-3 (structural): The surrounding instructions to make a brick and perform a prolonged sign-act provide the context for 4:5—Ezekiel's symbolic actions embody the period of punishment he is to bear.
- Isaiah 20:2-3 (thematic): Another prophetic sign-act in which a prophet undergoes a public, time‑defined action (walking naked/barefoot for years) to symbolize forthcoming judgment on nations—parallels Ezekiel's use of enacted chronology.
- Daniel 9:24-27 (thematic): Uses symbolic, calculated time periods (weeks of years) to represent prophetic fulfillment; thematically related to Ezekiel's use of numbered days to signify years of national culpability and exile.
Alternative generated candidates
- For I have assigned you the days of their iniquity—three hundred and ninety days; you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
- For I have assigned you the years of their guilt—three hundred and ninety days—you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
Eze.4.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכלית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- ושכבת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- צדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,m,sg
- הימני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- שנית: ADV
- ונשאת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ארבעים: NUM,m,pl
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לשנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נתתיו: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg+3,m,sg(obj)
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:4-5 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same chapter: Ezekiel lies on his left side 390 days for Israel, then is commanded to lie on his right side 40 days for Judah—same sign-act and the 'day for a year' equation.
- Isaiah 20:2-3 (thematic): Isaiah performs a prophetic sign-act—walking naked and barefoot for three years—as a bodily demonstration of judgment on Egypt and Cush, paralleling Ezekiel's use of his body to symbolize Israel's and Judah's punishment.
- Jeremiah 13:1-11 (thematic): Jeremiah's symbolic action with the linen belt (wearing, hiding, and retrieving it) functions as a prophetic sign illustrating Judah's fate—another example of using enacted symbolism to convey national judgment like Ezekiel's timed lying on his side.
- Hosea 1:2-9 (thematic): Hosea's marriage and the naming of his children serve as lived symbols of Israel's covenant breach and impending judgment, comparable to Ezekiel's embodied prophetic demonstration representing Judah's guilt and timeline.
- Ezekiel 12:6-11 (structural): Within Ezekiel, other sign-acts (packing baggage, carrying it through the city, being a 'sign' to the house of Israel) follow the same prophetic method—performative actions enacted by the prophet to depict impending exile and judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- When you have completed these, lie again on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days; a day for a year I have appointed you.
- And when you have completed these, lie again on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. A day for a year, a day for a year I have given you.
Eze.4.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- מצור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תכין: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- פניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- וזרעך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2ms
- חשופה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ונבאת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:1-6 (verbal): Immediate context: Ezekiel is given a series of symbolic actions (lying on his side, bearing the siege) and instructions to face and prophesy against Jerusalem, closely matching the language and sign-action in 4:7.
- Ezekiel 21:2-3 (verbal): Repeats the command to 'set your face toward Jerusalem' and to prophesy against the city/land—same phrasing and prophetic purpose elsewhere in Ezekiel.
- Isaiah 20:2-4 (thematic): Isaiah performs a prophetic sign (walking naked and barefoot) to symbolize coming judgment—parallels Ezekiel’s use of visible, enacted prophecy to announce siege and humiliation.
- Jeremiah 13:1-7 (thematic): Jeremiah’s symbolic action with the linen belt (a acted parable) serves the same function as Ezekiel’s sign-acts: a physical demonstration prophesying Judah’s impending disgrace.
- Jeremiah 1:17 (allusion): God charges the prophet to 'set your face' and stand to speak God’s words boldly—echoes the imperative in Ezek. 4:7 to turn toward Jerusalem and proclaim judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; uncover your arm and prophesy against it.
- Set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; uncover your head and prophesy against her.
Eze.4.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והנה: ADV
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- עבותים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- תהפך: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- מצדך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,_,sg
- אל: NEG
- צדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,_,sg
- עד: PREP
- כלותך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,_,sg
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- מצורך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,_,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:4-6 (structural): Immediate context: same commanded sign-action (lie on your sides) with the explicit timing language—explains and repeats the prohibition against turning until the appointed days are completed.
- Isaiah 20:2-3 (thematic): Isaiah performs a public sign-act (walking naked and barefoot for years) to symbolize Assyrian humiliation and exile—parallels Ezekiel’s embodied prophetic action representing siege and captivity.
- Jeremiah 13:1-11 (thematic): Jeremiah’s use of a worn linen belt as a symbolic object enacted Judah’s impending ruin and exile; like Ezekiel, Jeremiah enacts a symbolic demonstration to convey upcoming judgment.
- Hosea 1:2-3; 3:1 (thematic): Hosea’s commanded marriage and related actions function as lived parables of Israel’s unfaithfulness and consequences—another example of prophetic sign-acts conveying national fate.
- Ezekiel 24:15-18 (verbal): Ezekiel is told not to mourn his wife’s death as a prophetic sign concerning Jerusalem’s loss; another instance where the prophet’s personal behavior is used as a deliberate, symbolic message.
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, I will fasten bands upon you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
- Behold, I will bind you with bands so that you shall not turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
Eze.4.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- חטין: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ושערים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ופול: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ועדשים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ודחן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכסמים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ונתתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- בכלי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- ועשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ללחם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- שוכב: VERB,qal,ptc,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- צדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- שלש: NUM,card,f,sg
- מאות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ותשעים: NUM,card,90
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,suff:1,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:12-15 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same prophetic sign—further instructions about the siege-bread (how to bake, what to use for fuel, portion sizes), so these verses form one enacted message with 4:9.
- Deuteronomy 8:7-8 (thematic): Both passages enumerate staple agricultural products to evoke sustenance and land-provision; Deut. lists the 'seven species' of the promised land, while Ezek. 4:9 lists mixed grains/legumes to symbolize scarcity and siege rations.
- Leviticus 2:1-3 (thematic): Leviticus sets out regulations for grain offerings (fine flour, oil, frankincense) and use of cereals in cultic bread—parallels Ezekiel's focus on particular grains and forms of bread, though for different purposes (cultic vs. symbolic prophecy).
- Daniel 1:11-16 (thematic): Daniel negotiates for and is given an alternative diet (pulse/vegetables and water) instead of royal bread/meat; both texts center on prescribed/limited diets that have theological and symbolic significance for identity and survival.
- Exodus 16:31 (thematic): Exodus' description of manna as bread-like (like coriander seed, cakes in oil) resonates with Ezekiel's detailed description of mixed breads—both passages use unusual or notable bread imagery to comment on God's provision or on extraordinary circumstances of Israel's life.
Alternative generated candidates
- And take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make them for yourself a bread—by number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days you shall eat it.
- Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel and make them into bread for yourself. For the number of the days that you lie on your side—three hundred and ninety days—you shall eat it.
Eze.4.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ומאכלך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,suff:1,pl
- במשקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשרים: NUM,card,pl
- שקל: NOUN,m,sg,cstr
- ליום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- תאכלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg,suff:1,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:11 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same prophetic sign—specifies the same rationing (weight/measure of food and water) and continues the instruction about the daily allotment.
- 2 Kings 6:25 (thematic): Depicts extreme famine during a siege (Samaria) with rationing and exorbitant prices—parallels Ezekiel’s portrayal of starvation and scarcity under siege conditions.
- Lamentations 4:4-10 (thematic): Lament’s graphic account of hunger and diminished rations in Jerusalem’s siege echoes Ezekiel’s symbolic rationing and the effects of siege-induced famine on the population.
- Isaiah 20:2-4 (structural): Like Ezekiel’s acted oracle, Isaiah performs a public sign (walking naked and barefoot for years) to symbolize coming humiliation/siege—both use enacted prophetic gestures with set durations to communicate siege consequences.
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses describing siege conditions and extreme hunger (including eating food under duress and the distortion of normal eating rhythms), providing a legal-theological backdrop to Ezekiel’s rationing imagery.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your food shall be by weight—twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it.
- Your food shall be twenty shekels a day by weight; at measured times you shall eat it.
Eze.4.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ומים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- במשורה: PREP
- תשתה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ששית: NUM,ord,f,sg
- ההין: DEM,m,pl
- מעת: PREP
- עד: PREP
- עת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- תשתה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:9-10 (structural): Immediate context: Ezekiel is commanded to eat a measured mixture of food for a set number of days—verse 11 continues the acted sign by specifying that his water also be measured.
- Ezekiel 4:16 (verbal): Continues the same prophetic enactment theme: God says Israel will eat defiled food and drink polluted water as part of the judgment—echoes the measured, punitive rationing of verse 11.
- 2 Kings 6:25-26 (thematic): Description of the siege of Samaria with extreme scarcity and rationing of food (high prices, little available), paralleling the motif of measured food and water under siege/judgment.
- Lamentations 4:4-5 (thematic): Portrait of famine and thirst in Jerusalem’s siege (children’s tongues cleaving for thirst, extreme scarcity), thematically parallel to the measured drinking in Ezekiel 4:11.
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (thematic): Covenantal curse language promising poor yields and scarcity (planting without sufficient harvest or produce to drink), which parallels the prophetic symbolism of rationed food and water as a consequence of disobedience.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall drink water by measure—the sixth part of a hin; from time to time you shall drink.
- And you shall drink water by measure—a sixth of a hin; at measured times you shall drink.
Eze.4.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועגת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,f,sg
- שערים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תאכלנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- והיא: CONJ+PRON,3,f,sg
- בגללי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- צאת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- תעגנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- לעיניהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:13 (structural): Immediate continuation/parallel within the same prophetic sign-act; repeats and explains that the Israelites will eat defiled bread and that the food is to be baked over human dung (textual/contextual continuation).
- Deuteronomy 23:12-14 (verbal): Regulates human excrement outside the camp and treats it as a source of ritual/physical defilement; provides the cultural/ritual background that makes baking on human dung in Ezekiel a shocking sign of defilement and dishonor.
- 2 Kings 6:24-29 (thematic): Siege narrative of Samaria describing famine, extreme and unclean food (e.g., boiling donkey's head) and horrors of siege—parallels Ezekiel's depiction of humiliation, starvation, and eating defiled food as judgment.
- Jeremiah 19:9 (thematic): Pronounces extreme deprivations and abominations (eating flesh in judgment) as consequences of divine wrath; shares the motif of extreme degradation and horrific dietary imagery used to portray national judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall bake it as dung of man; it shall be before their eyes that they may bear an abhorrence at your food.
- And you shall bake it as barley cakes; you shall bake it using human excrement for fuel in their sight.
Eze.4.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ככה: ADV
- יאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- לחמם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- טמא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אדיחם: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg,3,m,pl
- שם: ADV
Parallels
- Ezek.4.12 (structural): Immediate context: the sign-act instructions about baking and eating defiled bread (using dung as fuel) — 4:13 summarizes the prophetic sign shown in 4:12.
- Hosea 9:3 (verbal): Parallel wording and theme — Israel/Ephraim driven out and forced to ‘eat unclean things’ among foreign peoples (Hosea uses the same idea of exile bringing ritual/physical defilement).
- Isaiah 65:4–5 (thematic): Condemns those who eat swine’s flesh and other ‘abominable’ foods and mix with profane practices — reflects prophetic concern with Israelites adopting unclean practices among nations or in exile.
- Ezekiel 36:20–21 (allusion): Speaks of the people profaning God’s name among the nations to which they are carried — connects exile, defilement, and the shame of being seen as unclean in foreign lands, a broader theme behind 4:13.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said, “Thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the nations where I drive them.”
- Then the LORD said, "Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread defiled among the nations where I will drive them."
Eze.4.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אהה: INTJ
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הנה: PART
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- לא: PART_NEG
- מטמאה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ונבלה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וטרפה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- אכלתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- מנעורי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- עתה: ADV
- ולא: CONJ
- בא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בפי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,construct
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- פגול: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 17:15 (verbal): Uses the same concern with eating a 'carcass' (nebelah) and the legal/ritual impurity that follows — parallels Ezekiel's claim he has not eaten carrion.
- Leviticus 11:8 (thematic): Part of the dietary purity laws forbidding consumption of unclean flesh and contact with carcasses; provides the legal background for Ezekiel's protest about not defiling himself.
- Daniel 1:8–16 (thematic): Daniel refuses the king's food to avoid defilement and emphasizes personal purity; thematically parallels Ezekiel's refusal to eat defiling flesh from his youth.
- Ezekiel 4:15 (structural): Immediate literary continuation: God responds to Ezekiel's protest by permitting cow dung for fuel instead of human excrement — directly linked to the claim of ritual scrupulousness in v.14.
- Acts 10:14–15 (allusion): Peter's vision ('What God has cleansed, do not call common') presents a later re-evaluation of food purity that contrasts with Ezekiel's strict refusal to eat defiling flesh.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then I said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD! Behold, my soul has not been defiled; from my youth until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has any unclean meat come into my mouth.”
- And I said, "Ah Lord GOD! Behold, my soul has never been defiled; from my youth until now I have not eaten what died of itself or was torn, nor has unclean meat entered my mouth."
Eze.4.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ראה: VERB,qal,imperat,2,m,sg
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- צפיעי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הבקר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- תחת: PREP
- גללי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- האדם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ועשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- לחמך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUF,2,m,sg
- עליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:12 (verbal): Immediate earlier instruction in the same enactment that the prophet should bake his bread on human dung — the exact image that 4:15 revises/clarifies.
- Ezekiel 4:14 (structural): Direct contextual parallel: Ezekiel protests that he has not defiled himself with human dung, and God thereupon permits cow's dung instead (the incident that 4:15 describes).
- Deuteronomy 23:12-14 (thematic): Orders for camp sanitation and disposal of human waste to preserve the holiness of the community — a legal concern with human excrement and purity in Israelite life related to the symbolic use of dung in Ezekiel's act.
- Numbers 19:11-12 (thematic): Laws on ritual impurity from contact with the dead and necessary cleansing procedures — relates to the broader biblical theme of impurity/defilement and the treatment of uncleanness that underlies Ezekiel's symbolic actions.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said to me, “See, I give you cow’s dung in place of human dung, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”
- And he said to me, "See, I give you the dung of cattle instead of human excrement, and you shall prepare your bread upon it."
Eze.4.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- שבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מטה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בירושלם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואכלו: VERB,qal,imp,2,mp
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במשקל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובדאגה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ומים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- במשורה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובשממון: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישתו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:11-12 (quotation): Same enacted-siege instruction — eat measured bread and drink measured water; verse 4:16 repeats and expands the ration imagery used earlier in the chapter.
- Isaiah 3:1 (verbal): Uses the 'stay'/'staff' metaphor for what sustains a city (staff of bread/support) and announces removal — closely parallels Ezekiel's 'break the staff of bread' image.
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses describing agricultural failure and scarcity (little harvest, lack of bread) as consequences of disobedience — thematically parallels famine and rationing in Ezek. 4:16.
- Lamentations 4:9-10 (thematic): Describes the effects of siege and famine — people 'are consumed for want of bread' and horrific deprivation, echoing the starvation and measured rations of Ezekiel's vision.
- Jeremiah 52:6-7 (cf. 2 Kings 25:3-4) (structural): Historical account of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem and a severe famine in the city, providing a real-world counterpart to Ezekiel's prophetic enactment of measured bread and water.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said to me, “Son of man, behold, I break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and with dismay.
- And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and drink water by measure, anxious and astonished.
Eze.4.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למען: PREP
- יחסרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ונשמו: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואחיו: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- ונמקו: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בעונם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+POSS:3,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses describing siege conditions and extreme scarcity (lack of bread, eating in distress) as punishment for sin—parallels Ezekiel’s link between sin and deprivation of bread and water.
- 2 Kings 25:3 (verbal): Describes Jerusalem’s siege when the city was shut up and 'there was no bread'—a historical fulfillment of the same siege-famine language used in Ezekiel 4:17.
- Lamentations 4:4-5 (thematic): Graphic depiction of famine and thirst in Jerusalem (children’s tongues cleaving for thirst; begging for bread), echoing Ezekiel’s image of lack of bread and water as judgment.
- Amos 8:11 (thematic): Uses famine imagery as prophetic judgment—though Amos speaks of a 'famine of hearing' rather than literal bread and water, it parallels the motif of deprivation as divine punishment for covenant unfaithfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- That they may lack bread and water, and be appalled one at another, and waste away because of their iniquity.”
- So they shall lack bread and water and gasp one for another, and waste away because of their iniquity."
Eze.5.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תער: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הגלבים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- תקחנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- והעברת: CONJ+VERB,hiph,perf,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- ראשך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- זקנך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ולקחת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- מאזני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- משקל: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- וחלקתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:1-3 (structural): Another prophetic sign-act in Ezekiel: building a model-siege and lying on his side to symbolize Jerusalem's coming siege—both passages use dramatic, enacted symbols to convey impending judgment.
- Isaiah 7:20 (verbal): Uses the image of shaving with a razor (“shave with a razor hired beyond the River”)—a close verbal parallel to Ezekiel's instruction to take a sharp sword/razor, linking shaving imagery with foreign-inflicted judgment.
- Isaiah 3:24 (thematic): Describes loss of hair and beard and shaming punishments (baldness instead of hair) as consequences of divine judgment—parallels Ezekiel's shaving as a sign of humiliation and devastation.
- Micah 1:16 (thematic): Commands to 'make thee bald and poll' as part of prophetic announcements of desolation—uses baldness/shaving imagery similarly to signal ruin and disgrace.
- Jeremiah 7:29 (verbal): GOD's command to 'cut off your hair and cast it away' functions as a prophetic rite of judgment/mourning, closely echoing Ezekiel's instruction to shave head and beard as a visible sign of doom.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you, son of man, take a sharp sword— a barber’s razor— and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair.
- And you, Son of man, take a sharp sword—use it as a barber's razor—pass it over your head and beard; then take balances to weigh and divide the hair.
Eze.5.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שלשית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- באור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תבעיר: VERB,hiphil,impf,2,m,sg
- בתוך: PREP
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כמלאת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,const
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- המצור: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ולקחת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- השלשית: ADJ,f,sg,def
- תכה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- סביבותיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:3,f,sg
- והשלשית: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def
- תזרה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- לרוח: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וחרב: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אריק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אחריהם: PREP,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 5:12 (verbal): Same prophetic schema — a division of the population into thirds with corresponding fates (fire, sword, scattering); 5:12 restates and explicates the outcomes sketched in 5:2–4.
- Ezekiel 4:1-3 (structural): An earlier sign‑act prophecy portraying the siege of Jerusalem; both passages use symbolic, performative actions by the prophet to represent impending siege and judgment.
- Ezekiel 14:21 (thematic): Lists the severe judgments God will send (sword, famine, pestilence, etc.); thematically parallels the disastrous fates implicit in the thirds of Ezek. 5:2.
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (thematic): Pronounces that the LORD will 'scatter' Israel among the nations as punishment for disobedience — parallels the image of a portion being 'scattered to the wind' in Ezek. 5:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall burn a third of it in the city inside the midst of the land when the days of the siege are fulfilled; and you shall take a third and strike about it with the sword; and a third you shall scatter to the wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
- A third you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city when the days of the siege are completed; and a third you shall strike about with the sword; and a third you shall scatter to the wind, and a sword shall follow after them.
Eze.5.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולקחת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- משם: PREP
- מעט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במספר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וצרת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- בכנפיך: PREP
Parallels
- Ezekiel 4:1-4 (structural): Same prophetic sign-action with hair: Ezekiel is commanded to shave/divide hair and appoint portions to symbolize Jerusalem’s fate—verse 5:3 is part of this broader enacted warning.
- Ezekiel 5:1-4 (structural): Immediate context: the sequence of shaving, dividing, burning, striking and scattering hair explains the meaning of taking 'a few' and binding them in the garment.
- Isaiah 20:2-4 (thematic): Isaiah performs a prolonged sign-act (walking naked and barefoot) to dramatize judgment on Egypt and Cush; parallels Ezekiel’s use of a prophetic symbolic action to communicate coming destruction.
- Jeremiah 13:1-11 (thematic): Jeremiah’s use of a loincloth/belt as a symbolic object acted out to portray Judah’s fate is a close parallel in method—object-based prophetic symbolism representing national humiliation and judgment.
- Isaiah 10:20-22 (thematic): Speaks of a small surviving remnant of Israel after judgment; connects with the motif in Ezekiel 5:3 of taking 'a few in number'—the idea of a scant remnant preserved amid destruction.
Alternative generated candidates
- And from these take a little and bind it in the skirts of your robe.
- And take from them a small number and bind them in the skirts of your garment.
Eze.5.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ומהם: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- תקח: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,sg
- והשלכת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- אל: NEG
- תוך: PREP
- האש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ושרפת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- באש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- תצא: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- כל: DET
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 5:2-3 (structural): Immediate context/continuation—commands to take a few and smite or burn as a symbolic act of judgment; v.4 continues the same ritual of burning and its spread.
- Leviticus 10:2 (verbal): Fire from the LORD consumes Nadab and Abihu for offering unauthorized fire—uses divine fire as direct punishment, paralleling burning as God’s judgment.
- Numbers 16:35 (thematic): The LORD sends fire to consume Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their households—similar motif of judgment by fire affecting entire households/communities.
- Isaiah 66:16 (thematic): God executes judgment ‘by fire and by his sword,’ with fire devouring the guilty—echoes prophetic imagery of fire spreading through Israel as divine punishment.
Alternative generated candidates
- And take a few again and cast them into the fire and burn them in the midst of the city; from them a fire shall go out into all the house of Israel.
- And of those yet take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them; from them a fire shall go forth to all the house of Israel.
Eze.5.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בתוך: PREP
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- שמתיה: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- וסביבותיה: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss3f
- ארצות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:64 (thematic): Deuteronomy warns that Israel (and by implication Jerusalem) will be scattered among the nations as judgment — parallels Ezekiel’s placing of Jerusalem ‘in the midst of the nations’ and the theme of exile.
- Psalm 48:2 (thematic): Psalmic portrayal of Zion as the joy/center of the whole earth echoes the motif of Jerusalem’s centrality among the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 5:5 (contrast of prominence amid surrounding peoples).
- Isaiah 2:2–3 (cf. Micah 4:1–2) (thematic): Prophecies that many nations will come to the hill of the LORD highlight Jerusalem’s relation to the nations—like Ezekiel’s statement that Jerusalem is set amid the surrounding peoples, though Isaiah/Micah portray a future gathering/privileged role.
- Zechariah 8:3 (allusion): Zechariah’s declaration that God will dwell ‘in the midst of Jerusalem’ connects to Ezekiel’s locational formula about Jerusalem among the nations and emphasizes God’s presence and the city’s central place among surrounding lands.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the Lord GOD: “This is Jerusalem; she is in the midst of the nations, and lands are all around her.
- Thus says the Lord GOD: "This is Jerusalem; she is in the midst of the nations, and lands are round about her."
Eze.5.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותמר: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- משפטי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- לרשעה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מן: PREP
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואת: CONJ
- חקותי: NOUN,f,pl,abs,1cs
- מן: PREP
- הארצות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- סביבותיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs,3s
- כי: CONJ
- במשפטי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1s
- מאסו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וחקותי: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,1s
- לא: PART_NEG
- הלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 20:13 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel within Ezekiel: the people are accused of not walking in God's statutes and despising his rules—same language and charge as Ezek. 5:6.
- 2 Kings 17:14 (verbal): Describes Israel's rejection of the LORD's statutes and covenant as the cause of judgment—uses virtually the same complaint and links disobedience to exile.
- Leviticus 18:4 (structural): The legal injunction to 'keep my statutes and my rules' (the law's demand); Ezekiel 5:6 functions as its antithesis by reporting Israel's refusal to obey those statutes.
- Psalm 78:10 (thematic): Speaks of the people's failure to keep God's covenant and refusal to walk in his law—a thematic lament about communal rejection of divine statutes like Ezek. 5:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- And she has rebelled against my ordinances more than the nations and has not walked in my statutes in the lands around her.
- She has rejected my statutes and profaned my laws; she has not walked in my judgments but has followed the practices of the nations that are around her.
Eze.5.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יען: CONJ
- המנכם: PRON,2,m,pl (suffix)
- מן: PREP
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- סביבותיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2,m,pl
- בחקותי: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs,pss=1s
- לא: PART_NEG
- הלכתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- משפטי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- לא: PART_NEG
- עשיתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- וכמשפטי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- סביבותיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- עשיתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 18:3 (verbal): Explicitly forbids Israelites from ‘walking in’ the statutes of the nations around them — language and idea echoed in Ezek. 5:7’s charge that Israel did not walk in God’s statutes but followed neighboring customs.
- Leviticus 20:23 (verbal): Prohibits adopting the practices of the nations (’you shall not walk in their statutes’), linking foreign customs to defilement — a verbal and legal precedent for Ezekiel’s condemnation.
- Deuteronomy 12:30-31 (thematic): Warns Israel not to be led to follow the detestable practices of surrounding peoples in worship and law; thematically parallels Ezekiel’s accusation that Israel imitated surrounding nations instead of God’s laws.
- Ezekiel 16:15-16 (thematic): Uses the motif of harlotry/infidelity toward God because of attraction to foreign nations and their ways — closely parallels Ezek. 5:7’s charge that Israel ‘multiplied whoring among the nations’ and abandoned divine statutes.
- Ezekiel 23:3-5 (thematic): Portrays Israel (and Judah) as prostitutes who pursue foreign lovers and foreign practices; reinforces the same charge in 5:7 that the people followed the laws and customs of surrounding nations instead of God’s.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have multiplied your transgressions above the nations that are around you and have not walked in my statutes or executed my judgments, nor done according to the judgments of the nations that are around you,
- Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Because you multiplied your abominations more than those nations and did not walk in my statutes or keep my judgments, nor do as the nations around you—
Eze.5.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- גם: ADV
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- ועשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- בתוכך: PREP,2,m,sg
- משפטים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Ezekiel 5:5 (structural): Same chapter/context: Jerusalem is presented as placed ‘in the midst of the nations,’ providing the setting for God to act ‘before the nations’—closely tied language and setting for the judgment announced in 5:8.
- Leviticus 26:17 (verbal): Uses the formula of God setting Himself 'against' Israel as punishment (I will set my face against you) and threatens defeat before enemies—verbal and conceptual parallel to 'I am against you' and execution of judgment.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 (thematic): Covenantal curse language that Israel will be defeated and humbled 'before your enemies' and among the nations—echoes the theme of God bringing public punishment to be seen by surrounding peoples.
- Jeremiah 25:9 (thematic): God summons nations (the 'king of the north' motif) to execute judgment on Judah; like Ezek. 5:8 it portrays God using or directing events so that judgment occurs visibly in the sight of other nations.
- Isaiah 2:12 (thematic): Announces 'a day' of the LORD against the proud and lofty of all nations—shares the theme of a divinely decreed, visible judgment enacted against a people and observed by the nations.
Alternative generated candidates
- therefore behold: I, even I, am against you; and I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations.
- therefore, behold, I—yes, I—am against you. I will execute judgments in your midst before the eyes of the nations.
Eze.5.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- עשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- אעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- כמהו: PRT+PRON,3,ms
- עוד: ADV
- יען: CONJ
- כל: DET
- תועבתיך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 5:11 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same prophetic threat: 5:11 expands the unprecedented punishment announced in 5:9, giving specific forms of destruction (death, famine, dispersion).
- Leviticus 26:21-22 (thematic): Part of covenantal warnings: God promises intensified, extraordinary punishment for persistent disobedience and abominations—paralleling Ezekiel’s declaration to do what He has not done before because of their abominations.
- Deuteronomy 28:58-63 (thematic): Covenantal reversal motif—blessings turned into unprecedented curses because of covenant unfaithfulness and detestable practices; similar logic of extraordinary divine action in response to Israel’s abominations.
- Jeremiah 44:11 (allusion): Judgment oracle against Judah/Judean exiles for idolatry and 'abominations'; God declares He will set His face against them for evil—echoes Ezekiel’s causal link between abominations and a unique, decisive punishment.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will do to you what I have not done, and I will not do again the like of it—because of all your abominations.
- And I will do within you what I have not done, and the like which I will not do again, because of all your abominations.
Eze.5.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- אבות: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- יאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בתוכך: PREP+NOUN,sg,abs+PRON,2,f,sg
- ובנים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אבותם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- ועשיתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- שפטים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וזריתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- שאריתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,f,sg
- לכל: PREP
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:29 (verbal): Uses the same horrific imagery of parents eating their children as a curse for covenant unfaithfulness; Ezekiel echoes this cultic-legal warning as a form of divine judgment.
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57 (verbal): Part of the Deuteronomic curse traditions describing starvation-driven cannibalism during siege; parallels Ezekiel’s portrayal of famine and internal destruction as punishment.
- Jeremiah 19:9 (allusion): Jeremiah employs the same image—'I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons'—as a prophetic sign of Jerusalem’s coming judgment, echoing the covenant curses found in Deuteronomy/Leviticus and reflected in Ezekiel.
- Lamentations 4:10 (thematic): Lament’s graphic depiction of mothers boiling or eating their own children parallels Ezekiel’s horror-language, both portraying extreme familial collapse under siege and divine judgment.
- 2 Kings 6:28-29 (cf. 2 Kings 25:3-4) (thematic): Narrative report of cannibalism during the siege of Samaria (and later reports at Jerusalem’s fall) provides a historical analogue to Ezekiel’s prophetic warning, illustrating the real-world fulfillment of such images of siege-induced atrocity.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore fathers shall eat their sons within you, and sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in you, and will scatter all your remnant to every wind.
- Therefore fathers shall eat their sons within you, and sons shall eat their fathers; I will execute judgments in you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.
Eze.5.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- חי: ADJ,m,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אם: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- יען: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- מקדשי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- טמאת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שקוציך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:2,m,sg
- ובכל: CONJ+PREP
- תועבתיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:2,m,sg
- וגם: CONJ
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- אגרע: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תחוס: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- עיני: NOUN,f,pl,cons+1s
- וגם: CONJ
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אחמול: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:30-31 (thematic): Condemnation of profaning sacred places and divine judgment: God threatens to destroy high places and make sanctuaries desolate in response to idolatry, paralleling Ezekiel’s charge that the sanctuary was defiled and punishment will follow.
- Ezekiel 8:6 (verbal): Part of the same prophetic temple-vision accusing the people of filling the house of the Lord with abominations—directly parallels the charge in 5:11 that the sanctuary has been defiled.
- Ezekiel 8:18 (verbal): Declares God’s wrath over the temple’s abominations with language close to 5:11 (eye will not spare; no pity), echoing the same refusal of mercy because of temple defilement.
- Jeremiah 7:30-34 (thematic): Jeremiah condemns the making of high places and detestable practices and announces desolation of the place—parallels Ezekiel’s theme that sacrilege in God’s house provokes removal of favor and judgment.
- 2 Chronicles 36:17-21 (structural): Describes the historical outcome—Jerusalem and the temple delivered to Babylon and laid waste because of the people’s sins—showing the fulfillment of the threat in Ezekiel 5:11 that God will withdraw and not spare the defiled sanctuary.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore, as I live—declares the Lord GOD—because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, I will also remove my compassion; I will not spare nor have pity.
- Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, if I do not punish you for your abominations and all your detestable things—even if I diminish you—I will not spare, nor will I have pity.
Eze.5.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שלשתיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:2,m,sg
- בדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימותו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- וברעב: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בתוכך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:2,m,sg
- והשלשית: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def
- בחרב: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יפלו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- סביבותיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss:2,m,sg
- והשלישית: ADJ,f,sg,def
- לכל: PREP
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אזרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וחרב: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אריק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אחריהם: PREP,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 5:1-4 (structural): Immediate context — the symbolic shaving and dividing of hair into three parts that the verse explicates: one third to die by pestilence/famine, one third by sword, one third scattered.
- Ezekiel 7:15-17 (thematic): Parallel catalogue of divine judgments (sword, famine, pestilence) and scattering of the people — similar language of devastation and pursuit by the sword.
- Ezekiel 14:21 (thematic): Lists the calamities God brings for judgment (sword, famine, wild beasts, pestilence); echoes the same punitive motifs found in Ezek.5:12.
- Leviticus 26:25-26 (allusion): Part of the covenant curses enumerating famine, pestilence and the sword as punishments for covenant unfaithfulness — background for Ezekiel’s threefold punishments.
Alternative generated candidates
- A third of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed by famine within you; a third shall fall by the sword round about you; and a third I will scatter to all the winds, and I will unsheathe a sword after them.
- A third part of you shall die by pestilence and be consumed by famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword round about you; and a third I will scatter to all the winds, and an outstretched sword shall follow them.
Eze.5.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אפי: NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- והנחותי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,_,sg
- חמתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- בם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- והנחמתי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,_,sg
- וידעו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- דברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- בקנאתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- בכלותי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- חמתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- בם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezekiel 5:11 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: pronounces punishment on Jerusalem for defiling the sanctuary and prepares the consummation of God’s anger that 5:13 declares will be spent.
- Ezekiel 7:8-9 (thematic): Speaks of God pouring out his fury and not having pity—parallel language of divine wrath being executed until it is accomplished so that people know the LORD.
- Nahum 1:2-3 (verbal): Describes the LORD as jealous and full of wrath, who takes vengeance—echoes the themes of divine jealousy (קנאה) and spent fury in Ezek. 5:13.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 (verbal): God says he will make nations jealous and provoke anger because Israel provoked him—uses the motif of divine jealousy that underlies Ezekiel’s declaration of wrath.
- Numbers 14:18 (thematic): Affirms God’s character as slow to anger but who does not leave the guilty unpunished—relates to the tension in Ezek. 5:13 between God’s wrath being carried out and the purpose that people may know the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- My anger will be spent, and I will vent my wrath on them and be satisfied; and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken in my jealousy when I have spent my fury upon them.
- My fury shall be accomplished; I will vent my wrath upon them and satisfy my anger; then they shall know that I am the LORD when I have executed my judgments upon them.
Eze.5.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתנך: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg,obj:2ms
- לחרבה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ולחרפה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- סביבותיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- לעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- כל: DET
- עובר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:37 (verbal): Deuteronomy warns that Israel will become a horror, proverb and byword among the nations—language and idea echoed in Ezek 5:14's depiction of desolation and scorn before passersby.
- Leviticus 26:33 (thematic): Leviticus predicts scattering of the people among the nations and their cities becoming desolate; thematically parallels Ezekiel's judgment of exile, desolation and shame among surrounding peoples.
- Ezekiel 36:20 (verbal): Ezekiel 36:20 speaks of the exiles making God's land an object of scorn among the nations—a close verbal and thematic echo of the humiliation and reproach announced in Ezek 5:14.
- Psalm 44:13-14 (thematic): The psalm laments that God has made the community a reproach and taunt among its neighbors—similar motif of national shame and derision before surrounding peoples found in Ezek 5:14.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are around you, in the sight of every passerby.
- And I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are around you, in the sight of all who pass by.
Eze.5.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- חרפה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וגדופה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מוסר: NOUN,m,sg,const
- ומשמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לגוים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- סביבותיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2,ms
- בעשותי: PREP+INF,qal,infc,1,sg
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- שפטים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- באף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובחמה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובתכחות: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- חמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- דברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:37 (verbal): Uses the same language of becoming a 'reproach and a byword' among the nations as the consequence of covenant disobedience, paralleling Ezekiel's announcement of shame among surrounding peoples.
- Psalm 44:13-14 (thematic): Speaks of Israel as a byword and the object of scorn among the nations—echoing Ezekiel's depiction of national disgrace and derision before surrounding peoples.
- Ezekiel 36:20-21 (thematic): Ezekiel elsewhere links Israel's profaning of God's name with being scattered and a reproach among the nations; this continues the prophet's theme that judgment results in shame and dispersion.
- Deuteronomy 28:25 (thematic): Describes military defeat and becoming a 'horror' or object of dread among the nations, thematically related to Ezekiel's portrayal of judgment bringing shame and revulsion from surrounding peoples.
Alternative generated candidates
- It shall be a taunt and a scoffing, a lesson and a horror to the nations that are all around you when I execute judgments in you in anger and in wrath and with furious rebukes— I the LORD have spoken.
- It shall be a reproach and a taunt, a lesson and a scorn to the nations that are around you when I execute judgments among you in anger, in wrath, and in fierce rebuke; I the LORD have spoken.
Eze.5.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בשלחי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- חצי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרעב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הרעים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- בהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- למשחית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אשלח: VERB,qal,imperf,1,_,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- לשחתכם: INF,qal,inf,2,m,pl
- ורעב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אסף: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליכם: PREP+PRON,2mp
- ושברתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- מטה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:26 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of God ‘breaking the staff of bread’ as a judgment causing famine and food scarcity.
- Deuteronomy 28:20-22, 28:51 (thematic): The covenant curses include famine, foreign oppression, and devastation as penalties for disobedience—paralleling Ezekiel’s threat to send famine and destroy sustenance.
- Ezekiel 14:21 (structural): Repeats Ezekiel’s judgment formula (sword, famine, wild beasts, pestilence), situating famine as one of the divine means of punishment.
- Amos 4:6-9 (thematic): God explicitly declares that he brought scarcity and want of bread (famine) on Israel to provoke repentance—matching the role of famine as punitive discipline.
Alternative generated candidates
- When I send against them the terrors of the neighboring nations—the worst of those who are destroyers, whom I send to destroy you—then famine shall follow upon you, and I will break the staff of bread.
- When I send against them the sharp arrows of famine—the worst of the famine that I send for destruction—then famine will gather over you, and I will break your staff of bread.
Eze.5.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושלחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- עליכם: PREP+PRON,2mp
- רעב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחיה: VERB,qal,juss,2,m,sg
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושכלך: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ודבר: VERB,qal,fut,3,m,sg
- ודם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- יעבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- וחרב: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אביא: VERB,hiphil,impf,1,_,sg
- עליך: PREP+2ms
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- דברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 26:21-26 (verbal): Lists covenant punishments including pestilence, wild beasts, famine and the sword — language and sequence closely parallel Ezekiel’s catalogue of judgments (‘I will bring a sword… I will send famine… beasts… pestilence’).
- Deuteronomy 28:21-22,52-57 (thematic): Covenant curse passages that promise famine, siege, pestilence, and death by the sword (and related horrors of siege) as consequences for disobedience — background for Ezekiel’s pronouncement.
- Ezekiel 4:16-17 (verbal): An earlier Ezekiel passage that enumerates similar judgments (famine, wild beasts, siege/attacking forces, scarcity of food) — the prophet repeats the same elements as part of Jerusalem’s punishment.
- Amos 4:6-11 (thematic): Amos lists successive divine calamities (drought, blight, famine, pestilence, overthrow) sent to provoke repentance; thematically parallels Ezekiel’s catalogue of disasters as instruments of God’s judgment.},{
Alternative generated candidates
- I will send upon you famine, wild beasts, pestilence, and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword against you—declares the Lord GOD.
- And I will send against you famine, wild beasts, pestilence, and blood; and I will bring the sword upon you. I the LORD have spoken.
And you, Son of man, take a brick and set it before you; portray on it the city—Jerusalem.
Lay siege against it, build siegeworks against it, cast up a ramp against it, set camps around it, and place battering‑rams all about it. And take an iron plate and set it as an iron wall between you and the city; face toward it— it shall be under siege, and you shall be the besieger; it is a sign to the house of Israel.
Then lie on your left side and place the guilt of the house of Israel upon it; number the days that you lie on it—you shall bear their guilt.
I have assigned to you the number of their days: three hundred and ninety days—you shall bear the guilt of the house of Israel. And when you have completed these, lie again on your right side and bear the guilt of the house of Judah forty days—a day for a year I have given you.
Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; uncover your loins and prophesy against her.
Behold, I will bind you with bands so that you shall not turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege. And take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them into one vessel and make them for yourself a bread—for the number of the days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days—you shall eat it.
Your food shall be by weight—twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. And you shall drink water by measure, a sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. And you shall bake it as barley cakes, using human dung for the fire before their eyes. And the LORD said, "Thus shall the children of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will drive them."
Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, my soul has not been defiled; from my youth until now I have not eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts—there was no such thing in my mouth." And he said to me, "See, I give you cow's dung instead of human dung, and you shall prepare your bread over it." And the LORD said, "Son of man, I am breaking the staff of bread in Jerusalem; they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in dismay." So they will lack bread and water, and they will faint one toward another and waste away on account of their iniquity. And you, Son of man, take a sharp sword—take a barber's razor—and pass it over your head and your beard; take balances and divide the hair.
A third you shall burn in the middle of the city when the days of the siege are completed; a third you shall strike about with the sword; and a third you shall scatter to the wind, and a sword shall follow after them.
Take from them a few in number and bind them in the folds of your garment. And take some of them again and cast them into the fire and burn them in the fire; from there a fire shall go forth to all the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem; she is in the midst of the nations and countries around her. And she has changed my judgments for wickedness from the nations round about her, and my statutes she has cast aside from the countries that surround her; for my judgments they despised, and my statutes they would not walk in.
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have behaved worse than the nations that surround you and have not walked in my statutes nor done my judgments—
therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, even I, will deal with you; I will execute judgments within you in the sight of the nations. And I will do to you what I have not done and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations.
Therefore fathers shall eat their sons within you, and children shall eat their fathers; I will execute judgments among you, and I will scatter all your remnant to every wind.
As I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled my sanctuaries with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, I will cut you off; my eye shall not spare, nor will I have compassion.
A third of you shall die by plague and be consumed within your midst; a third shall fall by famine in your midst; and a third shall be slain by the sword around you; and I will scatter a third to all the winds, and a sword shall follow after them.
My fury shall be accomplished, I will vent my burning anger on them and be satisfied; I will consecrate myself and be vindicated. Then they shall know that I am the LORD when I have executed my judgments upon them.
I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are all about you, in the sight of every passerby.
It shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson and an astonishment to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, in wrath, and in fierce rebuke. I the LORD have spoken.
I will send among you the sword—the evil of those I send to destroy you; I will bring famine upon you, and break your staff of bread. And I will send upon you famine and wild beasts and great bereavement; pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I the LORD have spoken.