“The word of Yahweh
Came to me.
‘Son of man!
Eat your bread
With quaking!
Drink your water
With trembling!
Be fearful!
Say to the people
Of the land!
Thus says Yahweh God
Concerning the inhabitants
Of Jerusalem
In the land of Israel.
They shall eat
Their bread
With fearfulness.
They shall drink
Their water
In dismay.
Because their land
Shall be stripped
Of all it contains,
On account of the violence
Of all those who live in it.
The inhabited cities
Shall be laid waste.
The land
Shall become a desolation.
You shall know
That I am Yahweh.”
The word of Yahweh came to Ezekiel, the son of man. He was told to eat his bread with quivering. He was to drink his water while trembling. He was to be fearful. He was to tell the people of the land what Yahweh, their God, had said about the people of Jerusalem in Israel. All of the people there would eat their bread with fearfulness. They would drink their water in confusion. Their land would be stripped of everything because of the violence of the people who lived in the cities there. The land would be all laid waste. Then they would know that Yahweh was the God of Israel.