Ezekiel’s Vision of God

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

⁴ Then I looked, and behold, ^(E)a whirlwind was coming ^(F)out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. ^5 (G)Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And ^(H)this was their appearance: they had ^(I)the likeness of a man. ⁶ Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. ⁷ Their ^[c]legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled ^(J)like the color of burnished bronze. ^8 (K)The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. ⁹ Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight ^(L)forward.

¹⁰ As for ^(M)the likeness of their faces, each ^(N)had the face of a man; each of the four had ^(O)the face of a lion on the right side, ^(P)each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, ^(Q)and each of the four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and ^(R)two covered their bodies. ¹² And ^(S)each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, ^(T)like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. ¹⁴ And the living creatures ran back and forth, ^(U)in appearance like a flash of lightning.

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, ^(V)a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. ^16 (W)The appearance of the wheels and their workings was ^(X)like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ¹⁷ When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. ¹⁸ As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were ^(Y)full of eyes, all around the four of them. ^19 (Z)When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, ^(AA)for the spirit of the ^[d]living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the ^[e]living creatures was in the wheels.

^22 (AB)The likeness of the ^[f]firmament above the heads of the ^[g]living creatures was like the color of an awesome ^(AC)crystal, stretched out ^(AD)over their heads. ²³ And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. ^24 (AE)When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, ^(AF)like the noise of many waters, like ^(AG)the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵ A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

^26 (AH)And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, ^(AI)in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above ^(AJ)it. ²⁷ Also from the appearance of His waist and upward ^(AK)I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. ^28 (AL)Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. ^(AM)This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Ezekiel Sent to Rebellious Israel

So when I saw it, ^(AN)I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

Ezekiel Called to Be a Prophet

2 And He said to me, “Son of man, ^(A)stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” ² Then ^(B)the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. ³ And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has ^(C)rebelled against Me; ^(D)they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. ^4 (E)For they are ^[a]impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ^5 (F)As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a ^(G)rebellious house—yet they ^(H)will know that a prophet has been among them.

⁶ “And you, son of man, ^(I)do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though ^(J)briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; ^(K)do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, ^(L)though they are a rebellious house. ^7 (M)You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. ⁸ But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and ^(N)eat what I give you.”

⁹ Now when I looked, there was ^(O)a hand stretched out to me; and behold, ^(P)a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰ Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.

²⁴ So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, ^(A)“Give God the glory! ^(B)We know that this Man is a sinner.”

²⁵ He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

²⁶ Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

²⁷ He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

²⁸ Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. ²⁹ We know that God ^(C)spoke to ^(D)Moses; as for this fellow, ^(E)we do not know where He is from.”

³⁰ The man answered and said to them, ^(F)“Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! ³¹ Now we know that ^(G)God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. ³² Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. ^33 (H)If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

³⁴ They answered and said to him, ^(I)“You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they ^[a]cast him out.

True Vision and True Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had ^(J)found him, He said to him, “Do you ^(K)believe in ^(L)the Son of ^[b]God?”

³⁶ He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

³⁷ And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and ^(M)it is He who is talking with you.”

³⁸ Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he ^(N)worshiped Him.

³⁹ And Jesus said, ^(O)“For judgment I have come into this world, ^(P)that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

⁴⁰ Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, ^(Q)and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, ^(R)“If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.