Ezekiel 1
New American Standard Bible
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.
15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one (AA)wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for [k]each of the four of them. 16 The (AB)appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like [l]sparkling (AC)topaz, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if [m]one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they [n]moved, they [o]moved in any of their four [p]directions without (AD)turning as they [q]moved. 18 As for their rims, they were high and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were [r](AE)covered with eyes all around. 19 (AF)Whenever the living beings [s]moved, the wheels [t]moved with them. And whenever the living beings (AG)rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 (AH)Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction[u]. And the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living [v]beings was in the wheels. 21 (AI)Whenever those went, they went; and whenever those stopped, they stopped. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living [w]beings was in the wheels.
Vision of Divine Glory
22 Now (AJ)over the heads of the living [x]beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had (AK)two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 And I also heard the sound of their wings, like the (AL)sound of abundant waters as they went, like the (AM)voice of [y]the Almighty, a sound of a crowd like the (AN)sound of an army camp; whenever they stopped, they let down their wings. 25 And a voice came from above the (AO)expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they let down their wings.
26 Now (AP)above the expanse that was over their heads there was something (AQ)resembling a throne, like [z](AR)lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a (AS)man. 27 Then I [aa]noticed from the appearance of His waist and upward something (AT)like gleaming [ab]metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 Like the appearance of the (AU)rainbow [ac]in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the (AV)glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I (AW)fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 1:1 Some ancient versions a vision
- Ezekiel 1:2 Lit it was
- Ezekiel 1:4 Heb uncertain; Gr indicates a gold and silver alloy
- Ezekiel 1:7 Lit the sole of their feet
- Ezekiel 1:7 Lit sole of a foot
- Ezekiel 1:10 Lit the four of them
- Ezekiel 1:10 Lit the four of them
- Ezekiel 1:13 As in some ancient versions; MT And the likeness of the living beings
- Ezekiel 1:13 Lit like the appearance of
- Ezekiel 1:13 Lit going out
- Ezekiel 1:15 Lit his four faces
- Ezekiel 1:16 Or the look of topaz
- Ezekiel 1:16 Lit the wheel in the midst of the wheel
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit sides
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:18 Lit full of
- Ezekiel 1:19 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:19 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:20 MT adds the spirit to go
- Ezekiel 1:20 MT being
- Ezekiel 1:21 MT being
- Ezekiel 1:22 As in some mss and ancient versions; MT being
- Ezekiel 1:24 Heb Shaddai
- Ezekiel 1:26 Heb eben-sappir
- Ezekiel 1:27 Lit saw
- Ezekiel 1:27 See note v 4
- Ezekiel 1:28 Lit which occurs in
Ezekiel 1
Holman Christian Standard Bible
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Chebar Canal,(A) the heavens opened(B) and I saw visions of God.(C) 2 On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile(D)— 3 the word of the Lord came(E) directly to Ezekiel(F) the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans(G) by the Chebar Canal. And the Lord’s hand was on him there.(H)
Vision of the Lord’s Glory
4 I looked and there was a whirlwind(I) coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber.(J) 5 The form of four living creatures came from it.(K) And this was their appearance: They had human form, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, sparkling like the gleam of polished bronze.(L) 8 They had human hands under their wings on their four sides.(M) All four of them had faces and wings.(N) 9 Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.(O) 10 The form of each of their faces was that of a man,(P) and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.(Q) 11 That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body.(R) 12 Each creature went straight ahead.(S) Wherever the Spirit[a] wanted to go, they went without turning as they moved.(T)
13 The form of the living creatures was like the appearance of burning coals of fire and torches.(U) Fire was moving back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, with lightning coming out of it. 14 The creatures were darting back and forth(V) like flashes of lightning.(W)
15 When I looked at the living creatures, there was one wheel on the ground beside each creature that had four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels(X) and their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl,(Y) and all four had the same form. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. 18 Their rims were large and frightening. Each of their four rims were full of eyes(Z) all around. 19 So when the living creatures moved,(AA) the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever the Spirit[b] wanted to go, the creatures went in the direction the Spirit was moving. The wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 The shape of an expanse,(AB) with a gleam like awe-inspiring crystal,(AC) was spread out over the heads of the living creatures.(AD) 23 And under the expanse their wings extended one toward another. Each of them also had two wings covering their bodies. 24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of mighty waters,(AE) like the voice of the Almighty,(AF) and a sound of commotion like the noise of an army.(AG) When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 A voice came from above the expanse over their heads; when they stood still, they lowered their wings. 26 The shape of a throne with the appearance of sapphire[c] stone was above the expanse.[d](AH) There was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above.(AI) 27 From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around.(AJ) From what seemed to be His waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around Him. 28 The appearance of the brilliant light all around was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day.(AK) This was the appearance of the form of the Lord’s glory.(AL) When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.(AM)
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 1:12 Or spirit
- Ezekiel 1:20 Or spirit
- Ezekiel 1:26 Or lapis lazuli
- Ezekiel 1:26 Lit expanse that was over their head
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