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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. 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.

(The cherubim were standing on the south side[f] of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 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. 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.

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] 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. (The cherubim appeared to have the form[m] of human hands under their wings.)

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

  1. Ezekiel 10:1 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
  2. Ezekiel 10:1 tn Or “like a dome.” See 1:22-26.
  3. Ezekiel 10:2 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. Ezekiel 10:2 tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10).
  5. 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.
  6. Ezekiel 10:3 tn Heb “right side.”
  7. 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.
  8. Ezekiel 10:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. Ezekiel 10:6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  10. Ezekiel 10:6 tn Heb “the wheel.”
  11. Ezekiel 10:7 tn Heb “the cherub.”
  12. Ezekiel 10:7 tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.”
  13. 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).
  14. Ezekiel 10:9 tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb.
  15. Ezekiel 10:9 tn The MT repeats this phrase either due to dittography or a distributive meaning of the repeated phrase (see GKC, 134q).
  16. 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).
  17. 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.
  18. Ezekiel 10:11 sn That is, the cherubim.
  19. Ezekiel 10:11 tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward.
  20. 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.
  21. Ezekiel 10:13 tn Or “the whirling wheels.”
  22. Ezekiel 10:14 tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  23. 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.
  24. Ezekiel 10:15 tn Heb “it was the living creature.”
  25. Ezekiel 10:16 tn Heb “lifted.”
  26. Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  29. Ezekiel 10:17 tn Or “wind.”
  30. Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “living creature.”
  31. Ezekiel 10:17 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  32. Ezekiel 10:19 tn Heb “lifted.”
  33. Ezekiel 10:19 tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV).
  34. Ezekiel 10:20 tn Heb “That was the living creature.”

10 At that moment I saw a form of a throne in the dome above the heads of the winged creatures. It appeared above them, and it looked like lapis lazuli. He said to the man clothed in linen: Go in between the wheels under the winged creatures.[a] Fill your hands with fiery coals from between the winged creatures, and scatter them over the city. As I watched, he went in. Now the winged creatures were standing to the right of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. Then the Lord’s glory rose from above the winged creatures[b] and moved toward the temple’s threshold. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. The sound of the winged creatures’ wings could be heard as far as the outer courtyard. It was like the sound of God Almighty[c] when he speaks. When he instructed the man clothed in linen to take fire from between the winged creatures and their wheels, the man went and stood next to the wheel. Then one of the winged creatures stretched a hand between the winged creatures into the fire that was between them, and he drew out some of it and set it in the palm of the one clothed in linen. He took it and went out. It appeared that the winged creatures had the form of a human hand under their wings.

Suddenly, I saw four wheels next to the winged creatures. There was a wheel next to each winged creature, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling topaz. 10 It appeared that there was one shape for all four of them, as if one wheel were inside another. 11 When they moved in any of the four directions, they moved without swerving. Whichever way the leading one faced, they moved in that direction without swerving. 12 Their whole body—backs, hands, and wings—as well as their wheels, all four of them, were covered with eyes all around. 13 It was these wheels that were called “the wheels” in my hearing. 14 Each winged creature had four faces. The first face was that of a winged creature, the second face was that of a human being, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle. 15 The winged creatures rose up, the same creatures that I had seen at the Chebar River. 16 When the winged creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the winged creatures lifted their wings to ascend above the earth, the wheels remained beside them without swerving. 17 When they stood still, the wheels stood still; when they rose up, they rose up with them, because the spirit[d] of the living creatures was in them. 18 Then the Lord’s glory went out from above the temple’s threshold and it stood over the winged creatures. 19 While I watched, the winged creatures raised their wings and rose from the ground to leave, with their wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the temple, and the glory of Israel’s God was up above them. 20 These were the same living creatures that I saw underneath Israel’s God at the Chebar River, and I realized that they were winged creatures. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, with the form of a human hand under their wings. 22 The forms of their faces were the same faces that I saw at the Chebar River. Their appearance was also the same. All four of them moved straight ahead.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 10:2 LXX; MT creature
  2. Ezekiel 10:4 LXX; MT creature
  3. Ezekiel 10:5 Heb El Shaddai or God of the Mountain
  4. Ezekiel 10:17 Or wind