And thou shalt turn thy face to the siege of Jerusalem, and thy arm shall be stretched out: and thou shalt prophesy against it.

Therefore thou shalt set thy face towards the siege of Jerusalem, and thy arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.

And unto the siege of Jerusalem thou dost prepare thy face, and thine arm is uncovered, and thou hast prophesied concerning it.

And let your face be turned to where Jerusalem is shut in, with your arm uncovered, and be a prophet against it.

And you shall turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and your arm shall be extended. And you shall prophesy against it.

Et ad obsidionem Ierusalem diriges [90] faciem: et brachium tuum nudatum (erit), et prophetabis contra eam.

Therefore thou shalt set thy face - Or, "And etc." i. e., direct thy mind to that subject.
Thine arm shall be uncovered - A sign of the execution of vengeance Isaiah 52:10.

Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thy (d) arm [shall be] uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
(d) In token of a speedy vengeance.

Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege at Jerusalem,.... All the while he was lying either on the left side or the right, his face was to be directed to the siege of Jerusalem, portrayed upon the tile, and to all the preparations made for that purpose, to show that all had reference to that and that it wound certainly be; for, as the prophet represented the Chaldean army the directing and setting his face to the siege shows their resolution and inflexibleness, that they were determined upon taking the city, and nothing should divert them from it:
and thine arm shall be uncovered; which was usual in fighting in those times and countries; for, wearing long garments, they were obliged to turn them up on the arm, or lay them aside, that they might more expeditiously handle their weapons, and engage with the enemy: in this form the soldiers in Trajan's column are figured fighting; and it is related that the Africans used to fight with their arms uncovered (h); thus Scanderbeg in later times used to fight the Turks. The design of the phrase is to show how ready, diligent, and expeditious, the Chaldeans would be in carrying on the siege. The Targum renders it,
"thou shalt strengthen thine arm;''
and so do the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions:
and thou shall prophesy against it: meaning not so much by words, if at all, but by these actions, gestures, and habit; for they all foretold what would certainly come to pass.
(h) Vid. Lydium de Re Militari, l. 4. c. 3. p. 160.

arm . . . uncovered--to be ready for action, which the long Oriental garment usually covered it would prevent (Isaiah 52:10).
thou shalt prophesy against it--This gesture of thine will be a tacit prophecy against it.

Set - While thou liest on thy side thou shalt fix thy countenance on the portrait of besieged Jerusalem. Uncovered - Naked and stretched out as being ready to strike.