Ezekiel 10
English Standard Version
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.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 10:1 Or lapis lazuli
- Ezekiel 10:11 Hebrew to their four sides
- Ezekiel 10:11 Hebrew the head
- Ezekiel 10:12 Or their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings
- Ezekiel 10:17 Or spirit of life
Ezekiel 10
International Standard Version
The Vision of God’s Throne
10 As I continued to watch, there on the expanse above the heads of the cherubim was a massive[a] sapphire stone that resembled a throne in form and appearance. 2 The Lord[b] spoke to the man who was clothed in white linen, telling him, “Go between the whirling wheels, under the cherubim, and fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim. Then scatter them[c] over the city.” So he entered as I watched.[d]
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south[e] side of the entrance to the Temple, when the man entered and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 The glory of the Lord rose above the cherub and moved to the threshold of the Temple. A cloud filled the Temple and the court was filled with the brilliance of the Lord’s glory. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim, reminiscent of the voice of the Sovereign God when he speaks, could be heard as far as the outer court.
6 He issued this order to the man who was clothed in white linen: “Take fire from within the whirling wheels, among the cherubim.” So he went and stood beside the wheels.
Ezekiel’s Vision of the Cherubim
7 Then a cherub stretched out his hand to the fire, which was among the cherubim, took some of the fire, and placed it in the hands of the one clothed in white linen, who took it and left. 8 There appeared to be human hands under the wings of the cherubim.
9 As I continued to watch, I observed four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub.[f] The wheels resembled beryl stone. 10 In appearance, the four wheels looked like they consisted of a wheel within a wheel. 11 Whenever they moved, they proceeded without turning around as they moved, but they followed in the direction where their head was facing, without looking around as they moved.
12 Their entire bodies, backs, hands, and wings were filled with eyes around, including each of their four wheels. 13 The wheels whose sound I was hearing were called “the whirling wheels”. 14 Each had four faces. The first one was the face of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 The cherubim arose. These were the same beings that I had seen at the Chebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels went alongside them. But when the cherubim started to ascend, beating their wings to rise above the earth, the wheels beside them didn’t turn. 17 When they stood still, the wheels stood still. When they rose up, the wheels rose up, too, because they were alive.[g]
18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the Temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 The cherubim lifted their wings and rose above the earth while I watched. They went out, along with their wheels, and stood at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s Temple as the glory of Israel’s God remained above, covering them.
20 These were the living beings that I had seen under the God of Israel on the bank of the Chebar River. I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces. Each one had four wings, and the form of human hands could be seen under their wings. 22 As to the likeness of their faces, they were like what I had seen on the bank of the Chebar River. They each moved straight ahead.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 10:1 The Heb. lacks massive
- Ezekiel 10:2 Lit. He
- Ezekiel 10:2 The Heb. lacks them
- Ezekiel 10:2 Lit. entered in my sight
- Ezekiel 10:3 Lit. right side
- Ezekiel 10:9 Lit. cherub and another wheel beside another cherub.
- Ezekiel 10:17 Lit. because the spirit of the living beings resided in the wheels
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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