Ezekiel symbolized the coming destruction of Jerusalem

1Yahweh also said to me, “You human, take a large clay tablet/brick and put it in front of you. Then on the clayengrave/draw on it lines that represent Jerusalem.

2Thendraw figures around it to represent enemy soldiers who will surround the city. Make mounds around it and a dirt ramp up against the wallaround the city. Setfigures around it that represent ◄battering rams/heavy logs that will break though the walls►.

3Then take an iron pan, and place it to be like an iron wall between you andthe drawing of the city. Then turn your face toward the drawing. It will symbolize thatenemy troops will surround the city to attack it. That will be a warning to the Israeli people [MTY].

4Then lie on your left side, and stay like that for 390 days. That willsymbolize that the Israeli people will be punished for their sins; you must lie like that one day for each year during which they will be punished.

6After that, lie down again. This time, lie on your right side for 40 days. That willsymbolize that the Israeli people will be punished more for their sins, one day for each yearduring which they will be punished.

7Turn your face towardthe drawing of Jerusalem and bare your armlike a soldier does who prepares to go into a battle [MTY], and prophesy aboutwhat will happen to the city.

8You will not be able to move; it will be as though I have tied you with ropes in order that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finishedsymbolizing how many years the city will be ◄besieged/surrounded by enemy soldiers►.

9Before you do that, take some wheat and barley, beans, lentils, spelt and millet, and put them in a storage jar, and use that to bake breadfor yourself. That is what you will eat during the 390 days while you lie on your left side.

10You will eat ◄8 ounces/a small loaf► of bread each day.

11Also measure out ◄1.5 pints/0.6 liter► of water to drink each day.

12Eat that bread like you would eat a loaf of barley bread. But use your own dried dung for fuel to bake the bread while people are watching.

13That will symbolize that the Israeli people will be forced to eat food that is unacceptable to me when they are living in the nations to which I will force them to go.”

14Then I said, “No, Yahweh God!Do not force me to do that! I have never caused myself to become unacceptable to you by doing anything like that. From the time when I was young, I have never eaten meat of any animal that was found dead or that had been killed by wild animals. And I have never eaten any meat that is unacceptable to you.”

15Yahweh replied, “Okay, I will allow you to bake your bread using dried cow manure instead of human dungfor fuel.”

16Then he said to me, “You human, I will cause the supply of food to Jerusalem to be cut off. Then the people will eat the small amounts of food and drink the small amounts of waterthat the government permits them to have, and they will be very distressed and anxious as they do that,

17because water and food will be very scarce. They will see each other becoming extremely thin, and they will be appalled; but this will happen because they are being punished for the sins that they have committed.”