Ezekiel 1

1In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal, ^athe heavens opened ^band I saw visions of God. ^c2On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile ^d— ³the word of the Lord came ^edirectly to Ezekiel ^fthe priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans ^gby the Chebar Canal. And the Lord’s hand was on him there. ^h

Vision of the Lord’s Glory

⁴I looked and there was a whirlwind ⁱcoming from the north, ^ja great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber. ^k5The form of four living creatures came from it. ^lAnd this was their appearance: They had human form, ⁶but each of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, sparkling like the gleam of polished bronze. ^m8They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. ⁿAll four of them had faces and wings. ^o9Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead. ^p10The form of each of their faces was that of a man, ^qand each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle. ^r11That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body. ^s12Each creature went straight ahead. ^tWherever the Spirit ^uwanted to go, they went without turning as they moved. ^v

¹³The form of the living creatures was like the appearance of burning coals of fire and torches. ^wFire was moving back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, with lightning coming out of it. ¹⁴The creatures were darting back and forth ^xlike flashes of lightning. ^y

¹⁵When I looked at the living creatures, there was one wheel on the ground beside each creature that had four faces. ¹⁶The appearance of the wheels ^zand their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl, ^aand all four had the same form. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. ¹⁸Their rims were large and frightening. Each of their four rims were full of eyes ^ball around. ¹⁹So when the living creatures moved, ^cthe wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose. ²⁰Wherever the Spirit ^dwanted to go, the creatures went in the direction the Spirit was moving. The wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

²²The shape of an expanse, ^ewith a gleam like awe-inspiring crystal, ^fwas spread out over the heads of the living creatures. ^g23And under the expanse their wings extended one toward another. Each of them also had two wings covering their bodies. ²⁴When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of mighty waters, ^hlike the voice of the Almighty, ⁱand a sound of commotion like the noise of an army. ^jWhen they stood still, they lowered their wings.

²⁵A voice came from above the expanse over their heads; when they stood still, they lowered their wings. ²⁶The shape of a throne with the appearance of sapphire ^kstone was above the expanse. ^lmThere was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above. ⁿ²⁷From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around. ^oFrom what seemed to be His waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around Him. ²⁸The appearance of the brilliant light all around was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. ^pThis was the appearance of the form of the Lord’s glory. ^qWhen I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. ^r