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

10 At that moment I saw a form of a throne in the dome above the heads of the winged creatures. It appeared above them, and it looked like lapis lazuli. He said to the man clothed in linen: Go in between the wheels under the winged creatures.[a] Fill your hands with fiery coals from between the winged creatures, and scatter them over the city. As I watched, he went in. Now the winged creatures were standing to the right of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. Then the Lord’s glory rose from above the winged creatures[b] and moved toward the temple’s threshold. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. The sound of the winged creatures’ wings could be heard as far as the outer courtyard. It was like the sound of God Almighty[c] when he speaks. When he instructed the man clothed in linen to take fire from between the winged creatures and their wheels, the man went and stood next to the wheel. Then one of the winged creatures stretched a hand between the winged creatures into the fire that was between them, and he drew out some of it and set it in the palm of the one clothed in linen. He took it and went out. It appeared that the winged creatures had the form of a human hand under their wings.

Suddenly, I saw four wheels next to the winged creatures. There was a wheel next to each winged creature, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling topaz. 10 It appeared that there was one shape for all four of them, as if one wheel were inside another. 11 When they moved in any of the four directions, they moved without swerving. Whichever way the leading one faced, they moved in that direction without swerving. 12 Their whole body—backs, hands, and wings—as well as their wheels, all four of them, were covered with eyes all around. 13 It was these wheels that were called “the wheels” in my hearing. 14 Each winged creature had four faces. The first face was that of a winged creature, the second face was that of a human being, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle. 15 The winged creatures rose up, the same creatures that I had seen at the Chebar River. 16 When the winged creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the winged creatures lifted their wings to ascend above the earth, the wheels remained beside them without swerving. 17 When they stood still, the wheels stood still; when they rose up, they rose up with them, because the spirit[d] of the living creatures was in them. 18 Then the Lord’s glory went out from above the temple’s threshold and it stood over the winged creatures. 19 While I watched, the winged creatures raised their wings and rose from the ground to leave, with their wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the temple, and the glory of Israel’s God was up above them. 20 These were the same living creatures that I saw underneath Israel’s God at the Chebar River, and I realized that they were winged creatures. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, with the form of a human hand under their wings. 22 The forms of their faces were the same faces that I saw at the Chebar River. Their appearance was also the same. All four of them moved straight ahead.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 10:2 LXX; MT creature
  2. Ezekiel 10:4 LXX; MT creature
  3. Ezekiel 10:5 Heb El Shaddai or God of the Mountain
  4. Ezekiel 10:17 Or wind