Bible Strands
Ezekiel 24:2
“Son of man, write down today’s date, for on this very day the king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses Ezekiel, commanding him to record the current date. This occurs on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, marking the moment the Babylonian king begins his siege of Jerusalem.
The words — The command centers on כְּתָב (ke.tov-), meaning “write,” and עֶצֶם ('E.tzem), meaning “substance” or “bone,” which in this context points to the precise day or chronological marker. These terms ground the prophetic message in a specific, verifiable historical record.
The thread — This identical date and military event are recorded in 2 Kings 25:1, Jeremiah 39:1, and Jeremiah 52:4. Each passage independently notes Nebuchadnezzar’s advance against Jerusalem on that exact day, establishing a unified historical timeline across the prophetic and historical books.
Why it lands — The directive to date-stamp the siege requires the reader to treat divine judgment as a concrete historical reality rather than an abstract warning. It demands acknowledgment that political events unfold under sovereign oversight and that prophetic words will manifest exactly as recorded.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 25:1 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.
- Jeremiah 39:1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.
- Jeremiah 52:4 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army. They encamped outside the city and built a siege wall all around it.
- Isaiah 8:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
- Isaiah 30:8 Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.
- Habakkuk 2:2 Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.