Ezekiel’s Vision of God

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by athe River Chebar, that bthe heavens were opened and I saw cvisions 1of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the 2Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and dthe hand of the Lord was upon him there.

4 Then I looked, and behold, ea whirlwind was coming fout of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 gAlso from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And hthis was their appearance: they had ithe likeness of a man. 6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 Their 3legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled jlike the color of burnished bronze. 8 kThe hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight lforward.

10 As for mthe likeness of their faces, each nhad the face of a man; each of the four had othe face of a lion on the right side, peach of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, qand each of the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and rtwo covered their bodies. 12 And seach one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, tlike the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, uin appearance like a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, va wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 16 wThe appearance of the wheels and their workings was xlike the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. 18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were yfull of eyes, all around the four of them. 19 zWhen the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, afor the spirit of the 4living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the 5living creatures was in the wheels.

22 bThe likeness of the 6firmament above the heads of the 7living creatures was like the color of an awesome ccrystal, stretched out dover their heads. 23 And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. 24 eWhen they went, I heard the noise of their wings, flike the noise of many waters, like gthe voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

26 hAnd above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, iin appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above jit. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward kI saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 lLike the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. mThis was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel Sent to Rebellious Israel

So when I saw it, nI fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

The Glory Departs from the Temple

10 And I looked, and there in the afirmament 1that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. 2 bThen He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with ccoals of fire from among the cherubim, and dscatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.

3 Now the cherubim were standing on the 2south side of the 3temple when the man went in, and the ecloud filled the inner court. 4 fThen the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the 4temple; and gthe house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s hglory. 5 And the isound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like jthe voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

6 Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels. 7 And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. 8 kThe cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

9 lAnd when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a mberyl stone. 10 As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 11 nWhen they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. 12 And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were ofull of eyes all around. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my 5hearing, “Wheel.”

14 pEach one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was qthe living creature I saw by the River Chebar. 16 rWhen the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. 17 sWhen 6the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when 7one was lifted up, 8the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

18 Then tthe glory of the Lord udeparted from the threshold of the 9temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 And vthe cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the weast gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 xThis is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel yby the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. 21 zEach one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And athe likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. bThey each went straight forward.