Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB Take for yourself an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face toward it. It shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
- KJV Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
- NKJV Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
- NASB Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city, and direct your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
- NLT Then take an iron griddle and place it between you and the city. Turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege will be against Jerusalem. This will be a warning to the people of Israel.
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
Ezekiel sets an iron pan as a wall between himself and the city as a sign to Israel. The iron barrier pictures God's firm judgment against Jerusalem.
Overview
The iron plate represents an unyielding separation, symbolizing God's set determination to besiege the city. Ezekiel, acting in God's place, sets his face against Jerusalem in judgment. The act is explicitly called 'a sign to the house of Israel,' demanding their attention. It dramatizes the seriousness of God's righteous response to persistent sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ezek 12:6And as they watch, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”
- Isa 20:3Then the LORD said, “Just as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and omen against Egypt and Cush,
- Isa 8:18Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
- Ezek 12:11You are to say, ‘I am a sign to you.’ Just as it happened here, so will it be done to them; they will go into exile as captives.
- Ezek 24:24–27‘Thus Ezekiel will be a sign for you; you will do everything that he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’
- Luke 2:34Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
- Jer 39:1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.
- Heb 2:4and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.
- Lev 2:5If your offering is a grain offering prepared on a griddle, it must be unleavened bread made of fine flour mixed with oil.
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How Ezekiel 4:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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