Ezekiel 4:6

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Ezekiel 4:6 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.
Ezekiel 4:6 — American Standard Version

Context — Ezekiel 4

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
6And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And when thou hast accomplished them, &c.] The three hundred and ninety days, by lying so long on the left side, bearing the sins of the house of Israel in this way; or, as Cocceius renders the words, “and thou shall accomplish them, and thou shalt lie”, &c.f79, that is, thou shalt so accomplish these days, that thou mayest lie through forty days on the right hand, and then make bare thine arm, and prophesy against Jerusalem; for he thinks the forty days are part of the three hundred and ninety, as before observed: and so Piscator’s note is, “when thou shalt accomplish”, &c. namely, when there shall remain yet forty days, as appears by comparing (<260409>Ezekiel 4:9) with this verse and…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“each day for a year--literally, "a day for a year, a day for a year." Twice repeated, to mark more distinctly the reference to Num 14:34. The picturing of the future under the image of the past, wherein the meaning was far from lying on the surface, was intended to arouse to a less superficial mode of thinking, just as the partial veiling of truth in Jesus' parables was designed to stimulate inquiry; also to remind men that God's dealings in the past are a key to the future, for He moves on the same everlasting principles, the forms alone being transitory.”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Accomplished - That is, almost accomplished. House of Judah - Of the two tribes. Forty days - Probably from Josiah's renewing the covenant, until the destruction of the temple, during which time God deferred to punish, expecting whether they would keep their covenant, or retain their idolatries, which latter they did for thirteen years of Josiah's reign, for eleven of Jehoiakim's, and eleven of Zedekiah's reign, and five of his captivity, which amount to just forty years. But all this was done in a vision. Ezekiel 4:7”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“4:6 Judah was the community of those in exile, whose sojourn outside the land was represented by the symbolic figure of 40 years. They were a lost generation, just like the generation that spent 40 years in the wilderness for their sin (Num 14:34). • The 430 days of Ezekiel’s confinement (cp. Ezek 4:5) parallel the 430 years that Israel spent in Egypt (Exod 12:40), hinting that there would be a new exodus at the end of the Exile.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“forty days: This represented the forty years during which gross idolatry prevailed in Judah, from the reformation of Josiah, bc 624, to the same final desolation of the land. Some think that the period of 390 days also predicts the duration of the siege of the Babylonians ( Eze 4:9), deducting from it five months and twenty-nine days, when the besiegers went to meet the Egyptians ( Kg2 25:1-4; Jer 37:5); and that forty days may have been employed in desolating the temple and city. "Beginning from Kg2 23:3, Kg2 23:23. Ending Jer 52:30." each day for a year: Heb. a day for a year, a day for a year, Num 14:34; Dan 9:24-26, Dan 12:11, Dan 12:12; Rev 9:15, Rev 11:2, Rev 11:3, Rev 12:14, Rev 13:5…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification