God Orders Ezekiel to Lie on His Side for 390 Days

God commands Ezekiel to lie on his left side for 390 days bearing the sin of Israel — one day for each year — then turn and lie on his right side for 40 more days for Judah's sin. He must tie himself with ropes so he cannot turn. He is to bake bread over human dung and eat it in rationed amounts. Ezekiel protests: he has never eaten anything unclean. God relents slightly — cow dung instead. The siege of Jerusalem will be so severe that people will eat rationed bread in despair and drink rationed water in horror.