Ezekiel 10
Living Bible
10 Suddenly a throne of beautiful blue sapphire[a] appeared in the sky above the heads of the Guardian Angels.
2 Then the Lord spoke to the man in linen clothing and said: “Go in between the whirling wheels beneath the Guardian Angels, and take a handful of glowing coals and scatter them over the city.”
He did so while I watched. 3 The Guardian Angels were standing at the south end of the Temple when the man went in. And the cloud of glory filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the Guardian Angels and went over to the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with the cloud of glory, and the court of the Temple was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And the sound of the wings of the Guardian Angels was as the voice of Almighty God when he speaks and could be heard clear out in the outer court.
6 When the Lord told the man in linen clothing to go between the Guardian Angels and take some burning coals from between the wheels, the man went in and stood beside one of the wheels, 7-8 and one of the Guardian Angels reached out his hand (for each of the mighty Angels had, beneath his wings, what looked like human hands) and took some live coals from the flames between the Angels and put them into the hands of the man in linen clothes, who took them and went out.
9-13 Each of the four Guardian Angels had a wheel beside him—“The Whirl-Wheels,” as I heard them called, for each one had a second wheel crosswise within—sparkling like chrysolite, giving off a greenish yellow glow. Because of the construction of these wheels,[b] the Angels could go straight forward in each of four directions; they did not turn when they changed direction but could go in any of the four ways their faces looked. Each of the four wheels was covered with eyes, including the rims and spokes. 14 Each of the four Guardian Angels had four faces—the first was that of an ox;[c] the second, a man’s; the third, a lion’s; and the fourth, an eagle’s.
15-16 These were the same beings I had seen beside the Chebar Canal, and when they rose into the air, the wheels rose with them and stayed beside them as they flew. 17 When the Guardian Angels stood still, so did the wheels, for the spirit of the Guardian Angels was in the wheels.[d]
18 Then the glory of the Lord moved from the door of the Temple and stood above the Guardian Angels. 19 And as I watched, the Guardian Angels flew with their wheels beside them to the east gate of the Temple. And the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
20 These were the living beings I had seen beneath the God of Israel beside the Chebar Canal. I knew they were the same, 21 for each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings. 22 Their faces too were identical to the faces of those I had seen at the canal, and they traveled straight ahead, just as the others did.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 10:1 blue sapphire, literally, “lapis lazuli.” Guardian Angels, literally, “cherubim.”
- Ezekiel 10:9 Because of the construction of these wheels, implied.
- Ezekiel 10:14 an ox, literally, “a cherub’s face”; see 1:10.
- Ezekiel 10:17 for the spirit of the Guardian Angels was in the wheels. That is, the wheel was a living part of the bodies of the cherubim. Hence it could not be separated from the cherubim.
Ezekiel 10
New English Translation
God’s Glory Leaves the Temple
10 As I watched, I saw[a] on the platform[b] above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 2 The Lord[c] said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork[d] underneath the cherubim.[e] Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.
3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side[f] of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the Sovereign God[g] when he speaks.
6 When the Lord[h] commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man[i] went in and stood by one of the wheels.[j] 7 Then one of the cherubim[k] stretched out his hand[l] toward the fire that was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form[m] of human hands under their wings.)
9 As I watched, I noticed[n] four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub;[o] the wheels gleamed like jasper.[p] 10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel.[q] 11 When they[r] moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow[s] without turning as they moved, 12 along with their entire bodies,[t] their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork”[u] as I listened. 14 Each of the cherubim[v] had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub,[w] the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings[x] I saw at the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread[y] their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 17 When the cherubim[z] stood still, the wheels[aa] stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels[ab] rose up with them, for the spirit[ac] of the living beings[ad] was in the wheels.[ae]
18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 The cherubim spread[af] their wings, and they rose up from the earth[ag] while I watched (when they went, the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.
20 These were the living creatures[ah] that I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings. 22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose appearance I had seen at the Kebar River. Each one moved straight ahead.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 10:1 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 10:1 tn Or “like a dome.” See 1:22-26.
- Ezekiel 10:2 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:2 tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).
- Ezekiel 10:2 tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum mss read plural “cherubim,” while the MT is singular here, “cherub.” The plural ending was probably omitted in copying the MT due to the similar beginning of the next word.
- Ezekiel 10:3 tn Heb “right side.”
- Ezekiel 10:5 tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72.
- Ezekiel 10:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:6 tn Heb “the wheel.”
- Ezekiel 10:7 tn Heb “the cherub.”
- Ezekiel 10:7 tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”
- Ezekiel 10:8 tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the plan or pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11).
- Ezekiel 10:9 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
- Ezekiel 10:9 tn The MT repeats this phrase either due to dittography or a distributive meaning of the repeated phrase (see GKC, 134q).
- Ezekiel 10:9 tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV).
- Ezekiel 10:10 tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). See also 1:16.
- Ezekiel 10:11 sn That is, the cherubim.
- Ezekiel 10:11 tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.
- Ezekiel 10:12 tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words.
- Ezekiel 10:13 tn Or “the whirling wheels.”
- Ezekiel 10:14 tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:14 sn The living creature described here is thus slightly different from the one described in Ezek 1:10, where an ox’s face appeared instead of a cherub’s. Note that some English versions harmonize the two descriptions and read the same here as in 1:10 (cf. NAB, NLT “an ox”; TEV, CEV “a bull”). This may be justified based on v. 22, which states the creatures’ appearance was the same.
- Ezekiel 10:15 tn Heb “it was the living creature.”
- Ezekiel 10:16 tn Heb “lifted.”
- Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:17 tn Or “wind.”
- Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “living creature.”
- Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Ezekiel 10:19 tn Heb “lifted.”
- Ezekiel 10:19 tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV).
- Ezekiel 10:20 tn Heb “That was the living creature.”
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