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Grammar Analysis: Ezekiel 4:4–6 (Second Day-for-Year Formula — yôm laššānāh)

Text

Hebrew (v. 4): וְאַתָּ֤ה שְׁכַב֙ עַל־צִדְּךָ֣ הַשְּׂמָאלִ֔י וְשַׂמְתָּ֛ אֶת־עֲוֹ֥ן בֵּֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עָלָ֑יו מִסְפַּ֤ר הַיָּמִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּשְׁכַּ֣ב עָלָ֔יו תִּשָּׂ֖א אֶת־עֲוֹנָֽם׃

Hebrew (v. 5): וַאֲנִ֗י נָתַ֤תִּֽי לְךָ֙ אֶת־שְׁנֵ֣י עֲוֹנָ֔ם לְמִסְפַּ֣ר יָמִ֔ים שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵאֹ֥ות וְתִשְׁעִ֖ים יֹ֑ום וְנָשָׂ֖אתָ עֲוֹ֥ן בֵּֽית־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Hebrew (v. 6): וְכִלִּיתָ֣ אֶת־אֵ֗לֶּה וְשָׁ֨כַבְתָּ֜ עַל־צִדְּךָ֤ הַיְמָנִי֙ שֵׁנִ֔ית וְנָשָׂ֖אתָ אֶת־עֲוֹ֣ן בֵּית־יְהוּדָ֑ה אַרְבָּעִ֣ים יֹ֔ום יֹ֧ום לַשָּׁנָ֛ה יֹ֥ום לַשָּׁנָ֖ה נְתַתִּ֥יו לָֽךְ׃

KJV (vv. 4–6): "Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."

Word-by-Word Parsing

Ezekiel 4:4

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וְ ו Conj and
2 אַתָּה אתה PersPron.2ms you
3 שְׁכַב שׁכב Verb.Qal.Impv.2ms lie down
4 עַל על Prep upon
5 צִדְּךָ צד Noun.ms.Abs.+2ms your side
6 הַ ה Art the
7 שְּׂמָאלִי שׂמאלי Adj.ms.Abs left-hand
8 וְ ו Conj and
9 שַׂמְתָּ שׂים Verb.Qal.Perf.2ms (weqatal) you shall put
10 אֶת את Prep (obj. marker) \<obj>
11 עֲוֹן עון Noun.ms.Cst iniquity of
12 בֵּית בית Noun.ms.Cst house of
13 יִשְׂרָאֵל ישׂראל PropN.s.Abs Israel
14 עָלָיו על Prep.+3ms upon it
15 מִסְפַּר מספר Noun.ms.Cst number of
16 הַ ה Art the
17 יָּמִים יום Noun.mp.Abs days
18 אֲשֶׁר אשׁר Conj (relative) which
19 תִּשְׁכַּב שׁכב Verb.Qal.Impf.2ms you shall lie
20 עָלָיו על Prep.+3ms upon it
21 תִּשָּׂא נשׂא Verb.Qal.Impf.2ms you shall bear
22 אֶת את Prep (obj. marker) \<obj>
23 עֲוֹנָם עון Noun.ms.Abs.+3mp their iniquity

Ezekiel 4:5

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וַ ו Conj and
2 אֲנִי אני PersPron.1s I
3 נָתַתִּי נתן Verb.Qal.Perf.1s I have given
4 לְךָ ל Prep.+2ms to you
5 אֶת את Prep (obj. marker) \<obj>
6 שְׁנֵי שׁנה Noun.fp.Cst years of
7 עֲוֹנָם עון Noun.ms.Abs.+3mp their iniquity
8 לְ ל Prep (distributive) for / at the rate of
9 מִסְפַּר מספר Noun.ms.Cst number of
10 יָמִים יום Noun.mp.Abs days
11 שְׁלֹשׁ שׁלשׁ Noun.s.Cst three
12 מֵאוֹת מאה Noun.fp.Abs hundred
13 וְ ו Conj and
14 תִשְׁעִים תשׁע Noun.mp.Abs ninety
15 יוֹם יום Noun.ms.Abs day(s)
16 וְ ו Conj and
17 נָשָׂאתָ נשׂא Verb.Qal.Perf.2ms (weqatal) you shall bear
18 עֲוֹן עון Noun.ms.Cst iniquity of
19 בֵּית בית Noun.ms.Cst house of
20 יִשְׂרָאֵל ישׂראל PropN.s.Abs Israel

Ezekiel 4:6

# Hebrew Lemma Parsing Gloss
1 וְ ו Conj and
2 כִלִּיתָ כלה Verb.Piel.Perf.2ms (weqatal) you shall complete
3 אֶת את Prep (obj. marker) \<obj>
4 אֵלֶּה אלה DemPron.p these
5 וְ ו Conj and
6 שָׁכַבְתָּ שׁכב Verb.Qal.Perf.2ms (weqatal) you shall lie down
7 עַל על Prep upon
8 צִדְּךָ צד Noun.ms.Abs.+2ms your side
9 ה ה Art the
10 ימני ימני Adj.ms.Abs right-hand
11 שֵׁנִית שׁני Adj.fs.Abs (adverbial) a second time
12 וְ ו Conj and
13 נָשָׂאתָ נשׂא Verb.Qal.Perf.2ms (weqatal) you shall bear
14 אֶת את Prep (obj. marker) \<obj>
15 עֲוֹן עון Noun.ms.Cst iniquity of
16 בֵּית בית Noun.ms.Cst house of
17 יְהוּדָה יהודה PropN.s.Abs Judah
18 אַרְבָּעִים ארבע Noun.mp.Abs forty
19 יוֹם יום Noun.ms.Abs day(s)
20 יוֹם יום Noun.ms.Abs a day
21 לַ ל Prep (distributive) + Art for the
22 שָּׁנָה שׁנה Noun.fs.Abs year
23 יוֹם יום Noun.ms.Abs a day
24 לַ ל Prep (distributive) + Art for the
25 שָּׁנָה שׁנה Noun.fs.Abs year
26 נְתַתִּיו נתן Verb.Qal.Perf.1s.+3ms I have given/appointed it
27 לָךְ ל Prep.+2ms to you

Clause Structure (overview)

Verse Clause Type Function
4a וְאַתָּה שְׁכַב עַל־צִדְּךָ הַשְּׂמָאלִי waw + independent pronoun + imperative Fronted-pronoun directive; topic-shift to prophet
4b וְשַׂמְתָּ אֶת־עֲוֹן בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל עָלָיו weqatal command sequence Continuation of imperative force
4c מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁכַּב עָלָיו תִּשָּׂא אֶת־עֲוֹנָם casus pendens + yiqtol main Temporal framework: duration of lying = duration of bearing
5a וַאֲנִי נָתַתִּי לְךָ אֶת־שְׁנֵי עֲוֹנָם לְמִסְפַּר יָמִים waw + independent pronoun + qatal (performative) Fronted "as for me" divine decree
5b שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵאוֹת וְתִשְׁעִים יוֹם Numerical apposition Specifies the "days" (390)
5c וְנָשָׂאתָ עֲוֹן בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל weqatal consequential Result/outcome of 5a
6a וְכִלִּיתָ אֶת־אֵלֶּה weqatal Piel temporal "when you have completed these [days]"
6b וְשָׁכַבְתָּ עַל־צִדְּךָ הַיְמָנִי שֵׁנִית weqatal command sequence Second sign-act: right side
6c וְנָשָׂאתָ אֶת־עֲוֹן בֵּית־יְהוּדָה אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם weqatal + accusative of duration Judah's 40 days
6d יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה Reduplicated distributive formula Ratio gloss: "a day for a year, a day for a year"
6e נְתַתִּיו לָךְ Qal perf. 1s + 3ms suffix Performative signature: "I have appointed/given it to you"

Construct Chains

  • עֲוֹן בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל — "iniquity of the house of Israel" (v. 4, 5) — three-term chain: Noun.Cst + Noun.Cst + PropN.Abs
  • עֲוֹן בֵּית־יְהוּדָה — "iniquity of the house of Judah" (v. 6) — parallel chain
  • מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים / מִסְפַּר יָמִים — "number of the days / days" (v. 4, 5)
  • שְׁנֵי עֲוֹנָם — "years of their iniquity" (v. 5) — construct form שְׁנֵי from שָׁנָה (fp.Cst of "year")
  • שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת — "three of hundreds" = 300 (v. 5)

Key Grammatical Features

1. יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה — the Day-for-Year Formula (v. 6d)

This is the second of only two canonical attestations of the yôm laššānāh formula (the first being Num 14:34).

  • Structure: Noun.ms.Abs (יוֹם) + Prep.+Art (לַ = lə- + ha-) + Noun.fs.Abs (שָׁנָה) — reduplicated
  • Preposition: לְ as distributive/proportional lamed — "for each," "per," encoding a fixed 1:1 exchange rate
  • Article: fused into לַ (laš-) giving definite "for the year," a specified reckoning base — not an open-ended metaphor
  • No construct chain: both nouns stand in the absolute state; they are linked only by the preposition — this is NOT "days of the year"
  • Reduplication: intensifies the distributive force and marks the ratio as fixed/deliberate (so also Num 14:34)
  • Gender contrast: יוֹם masc. / שָׁנָה fem. — the two time-units remain morphologically distinct, underscoring that the formula is a conversion between two kinds of units, not a restatement
  • Grammar library: day-year-formula

2. Numerical-Apposition Frame — אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם (v. 6c) ↔ Implicit 40 Years

The sign-act commands Ezekiel to lie אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם ("forty days") on his right side for Judah. The reduplicated yôm laššānāh that immediately follows converts these 40 days into 40 years of Judah's iniquity. This matches the Num 14:34 pattern where אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם ↔ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה flank the formula to make the ratio explicit.

For v. 5, the parallel term is שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵאוֹת וְתִשְׁעִים יוֹם ("390 days") for Israel. The v. 6 formula is grammatically attached to the Judah 40-day segment but governs the entire sign-act: v. 5's 390 days are likewise governed by the rate declared in v. 6d, as the parallel structure of the two sides (Israel left / Judah right) shows.

3. נָתַתִּי … נְתַתִּיו לָךְ — Performative Perfect of נתן (v. 5, 6e)

The verb נתן (H5414, "give/appoint") appears twice in Qal perfect 1cs with Yahweh as subject: - v. 5: נָתַתִּי לְךָ אֶת־שְׁנֵי עֲוֹנָם — "I have given/laid upon you the years of their iniquity" - v. 6e: נְתַתִּיו לָךְ — "I have appointed/given it [sc. the day-per-year rate, or the task] to you"

  • Tense: Qal perfect 1cs — classic performative perfect (declarative/decree), where the utterance itself enacts the assignment ("hereby I appoint")
  • 3ms suffix on v. 6e נְתַתִּיו — refers back to the immediately preceding formula / the whole sentencing scheme; its grammatical antecedent is debated, but the verb frames the yôm laššānāh ratio as a divine appointment, not the prophet's hermeneutical choice
  • Parallel with Num 14:34: there the performative verbs are תְּדָעוּן … תִּשְׂאוּ ("you shall bear," נשׂא Qal impf.); here נָתַתִּי / נְתַתִּיו (נתן) provides the decree, and נָשָׂאתָ (נשׂא Qal perf. weqatal) provides the bearing
  • Word study: H5375 nasa, H5771 avon

4. נָשָׂא עָוֹן — "Bear Iniquity" Idiom (vv. 4, 5, 6)

The collocation נשׂא + עון (H5375 + H5771) appears four times across the three verses (v. 4c תִּשָּׂא אֶת־עֲוֹנָם; v. 5c וְנָשָׂאתָ עֲוֹן בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל; v. 6c וְנָשָׂאתָ אֶת־עֲוֹן בֵּית־יְהוּדָה).

  • Semantic range: "carry/lift iniquity" — can mean suffer the punishment for sin (Lev 5:1; Num 14:33–34; Ezek 18:20) OR take away / forgive sin (Exod 34:7; Isa 53:11–12) depending on context
  • Here: the prophetic sign-act is a substitutionary enactment — Ezekiel bears (symbolically carries the weight of) the punishment earned by Israel/Judah, not as atonement but as visible declaration
  • Tense distribution: v. 4c תִּשָּׂא (Qal impf. 2ms, modal future); vv. 5c, 6c וְנָשָׂאתָ (weqatal, consequential future)
  • Word studies: H5375 nasa / TR-nasa-airo; H5771 avon / TR-avon-adikia

5. וְאַתָּה … וַאֲנִי — Fronted-Pronoun Contrast (vv. 4a, 5a)

  • v. 4a opens with וְאַתָּה (waw + 2ms independent pronoun) before the imperative שְׁכַב — a marked word order spotlighting the addressee
  • v. 5a opens with וַאֲנִי (waw + 1cs independent pronoun) before the qatal נָתַתִּי — mirroring topic-shift to the divine speaker
  • Together the paired "and as for you … and as for me" structure is a classical Hebrew topicalization antithesis: the prophet's embodied act answers directly to Yahweh's prior decree
  • The independent pronoun is grammatically redundant (the verb morphology already specifies the subject) — its presence is the marking device

6. כִלִּיתָ — Piel Perfect of כלה (v. 6a)

  • Stem: Piel (intensive/factitive) — "bring to completion, finish off"
  • Tense: weqatal (waw-consecutive perfect) — temporal sequencing, "when you have completed"
  • Function: marks the transition from the 390-day Israel segment (v. 5) to the 40-day Judah segment (v. 6) as a closed, consummated phase
  • אֶת־אֵלֶּה ("these") — pronominal object referring back to the 390 days of v. 5; establishes the two sign-act phases as sequential, not concurrent

7. שֵׁנִית — Adjective as Adverbial (v. 6b)

  • Form: Adj.fs.Abs of שֵׁנִי ("second")
  • Function: adverbial accusative — "a second time," qualifying the verb וְשָׁכַבְתָּ
  • Significance: marks the Judah phase as a repeat-but-distinct enactment — the structure is not one lying-down with two segments but two successive lyings-down; this matters because the yôm laššānāh formula at v. 6d is placed after both numerical segments have been introduced (390 for Israel in v. 5; 40 for Judah in v. 6) and so governs the whole diptych, not only the 40-day Judah phase that immediately precedes it

8. Accusative of Duration vs. Distributive Lamed (vv. 5, 6)

Two distinct time-constructions stand side by side:

Construction Example Function
Numerical apposition (acc. of duration) שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵאוֹת וְתִשְׁעִים יוֹם (v. 5), אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם (v. 6) unmarked extent of time: "(for) 390 days," "(for) 40 days"
Distributive lamed of ratio יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה (v. 6) exchange rate: "a day for [each] year"

The two are grammatically independent but semantically locked here: the durations in the accusative are the quantities being converted; the distributive-lamed phrase is the conversion key. This is the same structural combination found in Num 14:34.

Contrast with Num 14:34 (First Day-for-Year Formula)

Feature Num 14:34 Ezek 4:6
Numerical bracket אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם ↔ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה (explicit 40↔40) אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם (40 day Judah) + שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵאוֹת וְתִשְׁעִים יוֹם (390 day Israel)
Reduplication יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה יוֹם לַשָּׁנָה (identical)
Performative verb תִּשְׂאוּ (נשׂא Qal impf.) נָתַתִּי / נְתַתִּיו (נתן Qal perf.) + נָשָׂאתָ (נשׂא Qal perf.)
Direction of conversion 40 days of spying → 40 years of wandering (days earn years) 390 + 40 days of lying → 390 + 40 years of iniquity (days represent years)
Bearing subject the rebellious generation (2mp תִּשְׂאוּ) Ezekiel the prophet (2ms נָשָׂאתָ), representatively
Sign-act vs. sentence sentence on actual rebels sign-act depicting Israel/Judah's iniquity
Speech-act participant grammar second-person address to generation וְאַתָּה / וַאֲנִי fronted-pronoun contrast prophet↔Yahweh

Both texts deploy the identical surface formula with identical morphology, preposition-article fusion, gender contrast, and reduplication. Ezek 4:6 re-invokes the Mosaic precedent; the grammatical identity is the point — the same divine conversion-rule is being applied to a new recipient.

Cross-References

Grammar library

  • Num 14:34 — first canonical day-for-year formula (40-day spying ↔ 40-year sentence)
  • Dan 8:14 — 2,300 evening-mornings, hermeneutical target of day-year application
  • Dan 9:24–27 — 70 weeks (שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעִים), day-year hermeneutic link
  • Dan 7:25–26 — "time, times, and half a time" (Aramaic עִדָּן)
  • Rev 11:12 time markers
  • Rev 13:5 — 42 months grant

Word studies

Note on Interpretive Reach (context-neutral)

The grammar of Ezek 4:4–6 establishes: 1. A divinely decreed (performative נָתַתִּי / נְתַתִּיו) 1:1 day-to-year conversion ratio 2. Marked by a definite preposition (laššānāh) indicating a specified reckoning base 3. Reduplicated for fixed-ratio emphasis 4. Framed by numerical apposition (390 days, 40 days) to make the ratio quantitatively explicit 5. Attached to the "bear iniquity" idiom, framing days-as-years as a juridical/sentencing measure

What the grammar does not itself resolve is whether this formula — which in Ezek 4 (as in Num 14) has an explicit conversion context — is portable by interpreters to apocalyptic time-spans (Dan 7:25; 8:14; 9:24–27; 12:7, 11–12; Rev 11:2–3; 12:6, 14; 13:5) where no yôm laššānāh phrase appears in the immediate text. That is a hermeneutical question handled by the respective passage analyses; see day-year-formula for the context-neutral catalogue of both the grammatical attestations and the interpretive traditions.

Generated from: hebrew_parser.py --verse "Ezek 4:4", "Ezek 4:5", "Ezek 4:6"; KJV; BHSA (ETCBC) Last updated: 2026-04-17