Ezekiel’s First Vision

1 In the thirtieth year,^[a] in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was among the exiles by the Kebar Canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth of that month, in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, ³ the word of the Lord came in a dramatic way^[b] upon Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans,^[c] by the Kebar Canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord Appears

⁴ As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north. There was a large cloud, with fire flashing through it, and there was a bright light all around it. In the middle of it, there was something that looked like glowing metal^[d] in the middle of the fire.

⁵ In the middle of it I saw what looked like four living creatures. This was what they looked like. Each of them had a human appearance, ⁶ but each one had four faces, and each of them had four wings. ⁷ Each of their legs was straight,^[e] and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like polished bronze. ⁸ They had human hands under their wings on all four of their sides. All four of them had faces and wings.

⁹ Their wings were touching one another. The creatures did not turn from side to side as they moved, but each one faced straight ahead.^[f]

¹⁰ This is what their faces looked like. Each one had a face like a man’s face. On the right side of their heads, all four of them had a face like a lion. On the left side, all four of them had a face like an ox. All four of them also had a face like an eagle. ¹¹ Those were their faces.

Their wings were stretched upward. Each of them had one pair of wings which touched the wings of each of the cherubs next to it and another pair of wings which covered their bodies.

¹² Each one faced straight ahead as it moved. They went in whatever direction the spirit^[g] wanted to go. They did not turn as they moved ahead.

¹³ The appearance of the living creatures was like red-hot coals, like the appearance of blazing torches. Fire was moving back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and lightning was coming out of the fire. ¹⁴ The creatures darted back and forth. They looked like jagged bolts of lightning.

¹⁵ As I looked at the living creatures, I noticed one wheel on the ground beside each one of the living creatures that had four faces. ¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their design were like the sparkle of topaz,^[h] and the four of them looked alike. Their appearance and their design were like a wheel within a wheel.^{[i] 17} They could go in any of the four directions when they moved, but the wheels did not turn from side to side when they moved.^{[j] 18} As for their rims, they were high and intimidating, and their rims were full of eyes all the way around—all four of them. ¹⁹ Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and whenever the living creatures would rise from the ground, the wheels rose too.

²⁰ Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they would go. Wherever the spirit wanted to go,^[k] the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. ²¹ Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels would move. Whenever the living creatures stood still, the wheels would stand still. Whenever the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

²² There was something above the heads of the living creatures like the dome of a vaulted ceiling.^[l] It looked like ice. It was spectacular. It stretched out above their heads. ²³ Under the dome, two of their wings were stretched out to touch the wing of another one of the creatures. Each of the creatures also had two wings covering themselves, each had two wings covering themselves—covering their bodies.^{[m] 24} I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of rushing water. It was like the voice of the Almighty when they moved—a sound of commotion, like the noise in an army camp. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. ²⁵ A voice came from above the dome that was over their heads. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

²⁶ Above the dome that was over their heads, there was something that appeared to be a sapphire that was shaped like a throne. Seated on that throne-like form there was a figure that looked like a man. ²⁷ I saw something like the gleam of glowing metal^[n] with fire in it and all around it. It extended upward from what appeared to be the man’s waist. Below what appeared to be his waist, I saw what appeared to be fire, and a bright light surrounded him. ²⁸ The bright light that surrounded him looked like the rainbow that is in the clouds on a rainy day.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord. When I saw this, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.