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. ^2 (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.

³ 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. ^4 (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. ⁵ 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.

⁶ 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. ⁷ 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. ^8 (K)The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.

^9 (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.

The Mystery Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— ² if indeed you have heard of the ^[a]dispensation of the grace of God ^(A)which was given to me for you, ^3 (B)how that by revelation ^(C)He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, ⁴ by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), ⁵ which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: ⁶ that the Gentiles ^(D)should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, ^7 (E)of which I became a minister ^(F)according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by ^(G)the effective working of His power.

Purpose of the Mystery

⁸ To me, ^(H)who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles ^(I)the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make all see what is the ^[b]fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who ^(J)created all things ^[c]through Jesus Christ; ^10 (K)to the intent that now ^(L)the ^[d]manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church ^(M)to the ^[e]principalities and powers in the heavenly places, ^11 (N)according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have boldness and access ^(O)with confidence through faith in Him. ^13 (P)Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, ^(Q)which is your glory.

Appreciation of the Mystery

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the ^(R)Father ^[f]of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, ^(S)according to the riches of His glory, ^(T)to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in ^(U)the inner man, ^17 (V)that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, ^(W)being rooted and grounded in love, ^18 (X)may be able to comprehend with all the saints ^(Y)what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled ^(Z)with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now ^(AA)to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly ^(AB)above all that we ask or think, ^(AC)according to the power that works in us, ^21 (AD)to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.