¹⁸ You shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work ^[a]at the two ends of the mercy seat. ¹⁹ Make one cherub ^[b]at one end and one cherub ^[c]at the other end; from one piece you shall make the mercy seat with the cherubim at its two ends. ^20 (A)The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be toward the mercy seat. ^21 (B)You shall put the mercy seat ^[d]on top of the ark, and ^(C)in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. ^22 (D)There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from ^(E)between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all which I will command you for the sons of Israel.

Vision of Yahweh’s Glory Departing the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, in the ^[a](A)expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a ^(B)sapphire stone, in appearance in the likeness of a ^(C)throne, appeared above them. ² And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Enter between the ^(D)whirling wheels under the ^[b]cherubim and fill your hands with ^(E)coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the house when the man entered, and the cloud filled the ^(F)inner court. ⁴ Then the ^(G)glory of Yahweh rose up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the ^(H)house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the ^(I)brightness of the glory of Yahweh. ⁵ Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the ^(J)voice of ^[c]God Almighty when He speaks.

⁶ Now it happened that when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he entered and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ Then the cherub sent forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some up, and put it into the hands of the one clothed in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ And the cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

⁹ Then I looked, and behold, ^(K)four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a ^[d](L)Tarshish stone. ¹⁰ As for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. ¹¹ As they went, they went ^(M)in any of their four ^[e]directions without turning as they went; but they went in the direction which ^[f]they faced, without turning as they went. ¹² And their ^(N)whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the ^(O)wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. ¹³ The wheels were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels. ¹⁴ And ^(P)each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose up. They are the ^(Q)living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar. ¹⁶ Now as the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; also when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels would not turn from beside them. ¹⁷ When ^[g]the cherubim ^(R)stood still, ^[h]the wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, ^[i]the wheels would rise with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them.

¹⁸ Then the glory of Yahweh departed from the threshold of the house and stood ^(S)over the cherubim. ¹⁹ When ^(T)the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the house of Yahweh, and the glory of the God of Israel ^[j]hovered over them.

²⁰ These are the ^(U)living creatures that I saw beneath the God of Israel by ^(V)the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim.

⁷ And of the angels He says,