Ezekiel 4:14

Purity

¹² And you shall eat the food as you would a barley cake, after you bake it over dried human excrement in the sight of the people.”

¹³ Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.”

“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”

¹⁵ “Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.”

¹⁶ 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.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”
KJV: 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.
WEB: Then I said, “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, my soul has not been polluted; for from my youth up even until now I have not eaten of that which dies of itself, or is torn of animals. No abominable meat has come into my mouth!”
ASV: Then said I, Ah Lord Jehovah! 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 of beasts; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
DARBY: Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, my soul hath not been defiled, and from my youth up even until now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or of that which is torn; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
BLB: And I said, “Ah, Lord YHWH! Behold, never has my soul been defiled. And carcass and torn thing I have not eaten from my youth until now, and unclean flesh has not come into my mouth.”

ÅB: Da sa jeg: Akk, Herre, Herre! Se, min sjel er ikke blitt uren, og noe selvdødt eller sønderrevet har jeg ikke ett fra min ungdom like til nå, og det er ikke kommet urent kjøtt i min munn.
OTB: Da sa jeg, “Å, Herre Gud! Jeg har aldri blitt uren; fra min ungdom til nå har jeg ikke spist noe som døde av seg selv eller ble revet i hjel av dyr, og ingen uren mat har kommet inn i min munn.”
B1930: Da sa jeg: Akk, Herre, Herre! Se, min sjel er ikke blitt uren, og noget selvdødt eller sønderrevet har jeg ikke ett fra min ungdom like til nu, og det er ikke kommet urent kjøtt i min munn.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Acts 10:14
“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
Read in context
Ezekiel 9:8
While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord GOD, when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem, will You destroy the entire remnant of Israel?”
Read in context
Deuteronomy 14:3
You must not eat any detestable thing.
Read in context
Ezekiel 20:49
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
Read in context
Isaiah 65:4
sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls.
Read in context
Leviticus 17:15
And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.
Read in context
Jeremiah 1:6
“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
Read in context
Exodus 22:31
You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
Read in context