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

The Glory Departs from the Temple

10 And I looked, and there in the (A)firmament[a] that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne. (B)Then He spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said, “Go in among the wheels, under the cherub, fill your hands with (C)coals of fire from among the cherubim, and (D)scatter them over the city.” And he went in as I watched.

Now the cherubim were standing on the [b]south side of the [c]temple when the man went in, and the (E)cloud filled the inner court. (F)Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and paused over the threshold of the [d]temple; and (G)the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s (H)glory. And the (I)sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like (J)the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.

Then it happened, when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” that he went in and stood beside the wheels. And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. (K)The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

(L)And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a (M)beryl stone. 10 As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 11 (N)When they went, they went toward any of their four directions; they did not turn aside when they went, but followed in the direction the head was facing. They did not turn aside when they went. 12 And their whole body, with their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels that the four had, were (O)full of eyes all around. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my [e]hearing, “Wheel.”

14 (P)Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubim were lifted up. This was (Q)the living creature I saw by the River Chebar. 16 (R)When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also did not turn from beside them. 17 (S)When [f]the cherubim stood still, the wheels stood still, and when [g]one was lifted up, [h]the other lifted itself up, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

18 Then (T)the glory of the Lord (U)departed from the threshold of the [i]temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 And (V)the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the (W)east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

20 (X)This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel (Y)by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. 21 (Z)Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And (AA)the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the River Chebar, their appearance and their persons. (AB)They each went straight forward.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 10:1 expanse
  2. Ezekiel 10:3 Lit. right
  3. Ezekiel 10:3 Lit. house
  4. Ezekiel 10:4 Lit. house
  5. Ezekiel 10:13 Lit. ears
  6. Ezekiel 10:17 Lit. they
  7. Ezekiel 10:17 Lit. they were
  8. Ezekiel 10:17 Lit. they lifted them
  9. Ezekiel 10:18 Lit. house