Vision of God’s Glory Departing from the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, in the [a](A)expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a (B)sapphire stone, in appearance resembling a (C)throne, appeared above them. And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Enter between the (D)whirling wheels under the [b]cherubim and fill your hands with (E)coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight.

Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the [c]temple when the man entered, and the cloud filled the (F)inner courtyard. Then the (G)glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the (H)temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the (I)brightness of the glory of the Lord. Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the (J)voice of [d]God Almighty when He speaks.

And it came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he entered and stood beside a wheel. Then the cherub reached out with his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some coals and put them into the hands of the one clothed in linen; and he took them and went out. The cherubim appeared to have something like a human hand under their wings.

Then I looked, and behold, (K)four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a [e](L)Tarshish stone. 10 And as for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. 11 When they moved, they went (M)in any of their four [f]directions without turning as they went; but they followed in the direction which [g]they faced, without turning as they went. 12 And their (N)whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the (O)wheels were [h]covered with eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. 13 The wheels were called, [i]as I heard, the [j]whirling wheels. 14 And (P)each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a human, the third, the face of a lion, and the fourth, the face of an eagle.

15 Then the cherubim rose up. They are the (Q)living beings that I saw by the river Chebar. 16 Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels would move beside them; also when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels themselves would not turn away from beside them. 17 When [k]the cherubim (R)stood still, [l]the wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, [m]the wheels would rise with them, because the spirit of the living beings was in them.

18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood (S)over the cherubim. 19 When (T)the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the ground in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the Lords house, and the glory of the God of Israel [n]hovered over them.

20 These are the (U)living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by (V)the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. 21 (W)Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands. 22 As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one went straight ahead.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 10:1 Or firmament; i.e., atmosphere and space
  2. Ezekiel 10:2 As in LXX; MT cherub
  3. Ezekiel 10:3 Lit house, and so throughout the ch
  4. Ezekiel 10:5 Heb El Shaddai
  5. Ezekiel 10:9 Perhaps topaz
  6. Ezekiel 10:11 Lit sides
  7. Ezekiel 10:11 Lit the head turned
  8. Ezekiel 10:12 Lit full of
  9. Ezekiel 10:13 Lit in my ears
  10. Ezekiel 10:13 Heb galgal
  11. Ezekiel 10:17 Lit they
  12. Ezekiel 10:17 Lit they
  13. Ezekiel 10:17 Lit they
  14. Ezekiel 10:19 Lit over them from above

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.

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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.”