On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—
Parallel translations
- WEB In the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
- KJV In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
- NKJV On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
- NASB (On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile,
- NLT This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The vision is precisely dated to the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile, roughly 593 BC. The exact dating grounds Ezekiel's message in real history.
Overview
Jehoiachin was the young king deported to Babylon in 597 BC, and the exiles reckoned time by his captivity. By dating his call so carefully, Ezekiel underscores that God acts within verifiable history, not myth. This precision lends authority and accountability to the prophecies that follow. It reminds readers that God's word comes to real people in real circumstances of judgment and hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Kgs 24:12–15Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.
- Ezek 20:1In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and they sat down before me.
- Ezek 8:1In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, I was sitting in my house, and the elders of Judah were sitting before me; and there the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me.
- Ezek 40:1In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month—in the fourteenth year after Jerusalem had been struck down—on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He took me there.
- Ezek 29:17In the twenty-seventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Ezek 31:1In the eleventh year, on the first day of the third month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
- Ezek 29:1In the tenth year, on the twelfth day of the tenth month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 1:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.