The Vision of Four Figures

1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the ^(A)river Chebar among the exiles, the ^(B)heavens were opened and I saw ^[a](C)visions of God. ² (On the fifth of the month ^[b]in the ^(D)fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, ³ the ^(E)word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the ^(F)land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there ^(G)the hand of the Lord came upon him.)

⁴ As I looked, behold, a ^(H)high wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like ^(I)gleaming ^[c]metal in the midst of the fire. ⁵ And within it there were figures resembling ^(J)four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human ^(K)form. ⁶ Each of them had ^(L)four faces and ^(M)four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight and ^[d]their feet were like a calf’s ^[e]hoof, and they sparkled like ^(N)polished bronze. ⁸ Under their wings on their ^(O)four sides were human ^(P)hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, ⁹ their wings touched one another; their faces did ^(Q)not turn when they moved, each ^(R)went straight forward. ¹⁰ As for the ^(S)form of their faces, each had a human ^(T)face; ^[f]all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and ^[g]all four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and ^(U)two covering their bodies. ¹² And ^(V)each went straight forward; ^(W)wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. ^13 [h]In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of ^(X)fire, ^[i]like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was ^[j]flashing from the fire. ¹⁴ And the living beings ^(Y)ran back and forth like bolts of ^(Z)lightning.

²⁵ And ^(A)Barnabas and ^(B)Saul returned ^(C)when they had fulfilled their ^[a]mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them ^(D)John, who was also called Mark.

First Missionary Journey

13 Now there were ^(E)prophets and ^(F)teachers at ^(G)Antioch, in the ^(H)church that was there: ^(I)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of ^(J)Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with ^(K)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were ^[b]serving the Lord and fasting, ^(L)the Holy Spirit said, “Set ^(M)Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for ^(N)the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then, when they had fasted, ^(O)prayed, and ^(P)laid their hands on them, ^(Q)they sent them away.

⁴ So, being ^(R)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to ^(S)Cyprus. ⁵ When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in ^(T)the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had ^(U)John as their helper. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a ^(V)magician, a Jewish ^(W)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the ^(X)proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(Y)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the ^(Z)proconsul away from ^(AA)the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also known as Paul, ^[c](AB)filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him, ¹⁰ and said, “^[d]You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you ^(AC)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked ^(AD)the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now, behold, ^(AE)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the ^(AF)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at ^(AG)the teaching of the Lord.

¹³ Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from ^(AH)Paphos and came to ^(AI)Perga in ^(AJ)Pamphylia; but ^(AK)John left them and returned to Jerusalem.