⁹ The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.

^12 (A)It was revealed to them that ^(B)they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you ^(C)by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, ^(D)things into which angels long to look.

¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits ^(A)sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to ^(B)inherit salvation?

¹⁶ Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of ^(A)the surpassing worth of ^(B)knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ^(C)have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold ^(A)wisdom of God ^(B)might now be made known to ^(C)the rulers and authorities ^(D)in the heavenly places.

¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, ^(A)beholding ^(B)the glory of the Lord,^{[a] (C)}are being transformed into the same image ^(D)from one degree of glory to another.^[b] For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

⁵¹ And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,^[a] you will see ^(A)heaven opened, and ^(B)the angels of God ascending and descending on ^(C)the Son of Man.”

The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, ^(A)on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^(B)like a sapphire,^[a] in appearance like a throne. ² And he said to ^(C)the man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^(D)the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^(E)burning coals from between the cherubim, and ^(F)scatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^(G)before my eyes. ³ Now the cherubim were standing ^(H)on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^(I)a cloud filled ^(J)the inner court. ⁴ And ^(K)the glory of the Lord ^(L)went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^(M)was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^(N)the brightness of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ And ^(O)the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^(P)like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

⁶ And when he commanded ^(Q)the man clothed in linen, ^(R)“Take fire from between ^(S)the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ The cherubim appeared to have ^(T)the form of a human hand under their wings.

^9 (U)And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^(V)the appearance of the wheels was ^(W)like sparkling ^(X)beryl. ¹⁰ And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. ^11 (Y)When they went, they went in any of their four directions^{[b] (Z)}without turning as they went, ^(AA)but in whatever direction the front wheel^[c] faced, the others followed without turning as they went. ^12 (AB)And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,^[d] and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. ¹³ As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ^(AC)“the whirling wheels.” ^14 (AD)And every one had four faces: ^(AE)the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^(AF)a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

^15 (AG)And the cherubim mounted up. These were ^(AH)the living creatures that I saw by ^(AI)the Chebar canal. ^16 (AJ)And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^(AK)when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. ^17 (AL)When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures^[e] was in them.

^18 (AM)Then ^(AN)the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. ^19 (AO)And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ^(AP)before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^(AQ)east gate of the house of the Lord, and ^(AR)the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

^20 (AS)These were the living creatures that I saw ^(AT)underneath the God of Israel by ^(AU)the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. ^21 (AV)Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^(AW)the likeness of human hands. ^22 (AX)And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^(AY)Each one of them went straight forward.