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:
Parallel translations
- WEB Moreover he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem. They will eat bread by weight, and with fearfulness; and they shall drink water by measure, and in dismay;
- BSB Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure.
- NKJV Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall drink water by measure and with dread,
- NASB Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and drink water by measure and in horror,
- NLT Then he told me, “Son of man, I will make food very scarce in Jerusalem. It will be weighed out with great care and eaten fearfully. The water will be rationed out drop by drop, and the people will drink it with dismay.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God announces He will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, so people eat in fear and dread. The siege will bring anxious scarcity to all.
Overview
The Lord declares He will cut off Jerusalem's food supply, the very support of life, so that bread and water are taken in dread. The phrase 'staff of bread' pictures bread as the prop that holds up life, now to be shattered. This judgment fulfills the covenant curses of Leviticus 26, showing that God's warnings are never empty threats.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ezek 5:16When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
- Isa 3:1For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water.
- Lev 26:26And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
- Ezek 12:18–19Son of man, eat thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness;
- Ps 105:16Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he brake the whole staff of bread.
- Ezek 4:10–11And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
- Ezek 14:13Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
- Lam 1:11All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile.
- Lam 5:9We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
- Lam 4:9–10They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
- Ps 60:3Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
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