10. And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.

10. Et cibus quem comedes in pondere, erit viginti siclorum pro die [93] a tempore usque ad tempus comedes. [94]

11. Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.

11. Et aquas in mensuram bibes in sextam partem hin: a tempore usque ad tempus bibes.

This confirms what I have said, namely, that the want should be such, that the Prophet dared not eat even that bread to satiety: you shall eat, says he, bread by weight, viz, twenty shekels. These are not complete rounds, so that the sense is, that God commanded his Prophet to live sparingly. When the city was besieged, bread was distributed in pieces to each person. God then here says, that the Jews should be almost famished during the siege, so that they should not have bread except by fixed weight, and that a small one. What follows is more miserable, namely, the want of water; for this is the last stage of calamity when thirst oppresses us. it seems hard, indeed, to want wine, but when water is deficient, this, as I have said, is the last stage of famine, and this the Prophet denounces against the Jews when he says, water was not given to him during the time of the siege unless by measure. I shall leave the rest till to-morrow.

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Footnotes:

[93] That is, in or for each day.--Calvin.

[94] That is, from the beginning to the end: viz., from the first day to the 390th. -- Calvin