“Son of man, write down today’s date, because on this very day the king of Babylon is beginning his attack against Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- WEB Son of man, write the name of the day, this same day. The king of Babylon drew close to Jerusalem this same day.
- KJV Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.
- BSB “Son of man, write down today’s date, for on this very day the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem.
- NKJV “Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day—the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day.
- NASB “Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.
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
God tells Ezekiel to record this exact day because Babylon's king has just begun besieging Jerusalem. It confirms the prophecy by tying it to a datable event.
Overview
The command to 'write the name of the day' creates a permanent record so that when news of the siege later reaches the exiles, they will know Ezekiel spoke for God. The synchronization between the prophet's revelation and the distant event is itself a sign. God's foreknowledge and control over history are on full display.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Kgs 25:1In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it around it.
- Jer 52:4In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about.
- Jer 39:1When Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it.
- Hab 2:2–3Yahweh answered me, “Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who runs may read it.
- Isa 8:1Yahweh said to me, “Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man’s pen, ‘For Maher Shalal Hash Baz’;
- Isa 30:8–9Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 24:2 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.