²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side^[a] of the Garden of Eden^(A) cherubim^(B) and a flaming sword^(C) flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.^(D)

⁷ In speaking of the angels he says,

¹⁸ And make two cherubim^(A) out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim^(B) are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing^(C) the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. ²¹ Place the cover on top of the ark^(D) and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law^(E) that I will give you. ²² There, above the cover between the two cherubim^(F) that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet^(G) with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.^(H)

¹⁶ David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.^(A)

¹⁷ David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd,^[a] have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep.^(B) What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family,^(C) but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

¹⁸ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

A Call to Persevere in Faith

¹⁹ Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence^(A) to enter the Most Holy Place^(B) by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way^(C) opened for us through the curtain,^(D) that is, his body, ²¹ and since we have a great priest^(E) over the house of God,^{(F) 22} let us draw near to God^(G) with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,^(H) having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience^(I) and having our bodies washed with pure water.^(J)

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am^(A) the way^(B) and the truth^(C) and the life.^(D) No one comes to the Father except through me.^(E)

² The Lord said to the man clothed in linen,^(A) “Go in among the wheels^(B) beneath the cherubim. Fill^(C) your hands with burning coals^(D) from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

³ Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. ⁴ Then the glory of the Lord^(E) rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. ⁵ The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice^(F) of God Almighty^[a] when he speaks.^(G)

⁶ When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels,^(H) from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. ⁷ Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire^(I) that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. ⁸ (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)^(J)

⁹ I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz.^{(K) 10} As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. ¹¹ As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about^[b] as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. ¹² Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes,^(L) as were their four wheels.^{(M) 13} I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” ¹⁴ Each of the cherubim^(N) had four faces:^(O) One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion,^(P) and the fourth the face of an eagle.^(Q)

¹⁵ Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures^(R) I had seen by the Kebar River.^{(S) 16} When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. ¹⁷ When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.^(T)

¹⁸ Then the glory^(U) of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.^{(V) 19} While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them.^(W) They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory^(X) of the God of Israel was above them.

²⁰ These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River,^(Y) and I realized that they were cherubim. ²¹ Each had four faces^(Z) and four wings,^(AA) and under their wings was what looked like human hands. ²² Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River.^(AB) Each one went straight ahead.

Psalm 99