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
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- Ezekiel 1:1 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Syr., Tg. a vision
- Ezekiel 1:3 Or Babylonians, and so elsewhere in the book
- Ezekiel 1:7 Lit. feet
- Ezekiel 1:20 Lit. living creature; LXX, Vg. spirit of life; Tg. creatures
- Ezekiel 1:21 See note at v. 20
- Ezekiel 1:22 Or expanse
- Ezekiel 1:22 So with LXX, Tg., Vg.; MT living creature
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
