Ezekiel 1:4-24
Lexham English Bible
4 And I looked,[a] and look! A storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud, and fire flashing back and forth, and brightness around and within it,[b] and from its midst[c] it was like the outward appearance of amber stone from the midst[d] of the fire. 5 And from its midst[e] was the likeness of four living creatures, and this was their appearance: a human form,[f] 6 and each had four faces,[g] and each of them had four wings.[h] 7 And their legs were straight legs, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of the foot of a calf, and they were sparkling like the outward appearance of polished bronze. 8 And under their wings were human hands[i] on their four sides. And their faces and their wings for the four of them were as follows: 9 their wings were touching one another;[j] each of them went straight forward,[k] without turning right or left.[l] 10 The likeness of their faces was the face of a human in front, and the face of a lion on the right of each of them,[m] and the face of an ox on the left of each of them,[n] and the face of an eagle for each of them.[o] 11 So were their faces; their wings were spread out upward;[p] each had two touching one another and two covering their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward;[q] wherever the spirit went[r] they went, and they did not turn as they went.[s] 13 As for[t] the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. It[u] was moving to and fro between the living creatures, and the fire was very bright[v] and lightning was going out from the fire. 14 And the living creatures were speeding to and fro[w] like the appearance of lightning.
15 And I saw the living creatures, and look! A wheel was on the earth[x] beside each of the living creatures that had four faces.[y] 16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction was like the appearance of beryl,[z] and they all looked alike,[aa] and their appearance and their construction was like a wheel within a wheel.[ab] 17 When they moved, they went toward their four sides; they did not veer at all as they went.[ac] 18 And their rims were high and awesome,[ad] and all four of[ae] their rims were full of eyes all around. 19 And at the going of the living creatures, the wheels next to them also went, and when the creatures were lifted from the ground[af] the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever[ag] the spirit went they would go there, and the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures[ah] was in the wheels. 21 At their[ai] going, they[aj] go, and at their standing, they stood, and at their being lifted up from on the earth,[ak] the wheels rose,[al] for the spirit of the living creatures[am] was in the wheels.
22 Now[an] the likeness above the heads of the living creatures was an expanse like the outward appearance of awesome[ao] ice[ap] spread out above their heads upward.[aq] 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight one toward the other;[ar] each had two wings covering them, and each had two wings covering their bodies. 24 And I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the voice of Shaddai,[as] and when they moved[at] there was a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; when they stood still[au] they lowered their wings.
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- Ezekiel 1:4 Or “saw”
- Ezekiel 1:4 Literally “for it”
- Ezekiel 1:4 Or “middle”
- Ezekiel 1:4 Or “middle”
- Ezekiel 1:5 Or “middle”
- Ezekiel 1:5 Literally “this their appearance the likeness of a human to them”
- Ezekiel 1:6 Literally “and four faces to each”
- Ezekiel 1:6 Literally “and four wings to each for them”
- Ezekiel 1:8 Literally “hand his a man”
- Ezekiel 1:9 Literally “their wings were touching each her sister”
- Ezekiel 1:9 Literally “they did not turn at their going”
- Ezekiel 1:9 Literally “each toward the side of his face they went”
- Ezekiel 1:10 Literally “of the four of them”
- Ezekiel 1:10 Literally “of the four of them”
- Ezekiel 1:10 Literally “of the four of them”
- Ezekiel 1:11 Literally “from to above”
- Ezekiel 1:12 Literally “toward the side of his face they went”
- Ezekiel 1:12 Literally “towards which it was there the spirit”
- Ezekiel 1:12 Literally “they did not turn at their going”
- Ezekiel 1:13 Or “And”
- Ezekiel 1:13 That is, the fire
- Ezekiel 1:13 Literally “brightness was for the fire”
- Ezekiel 1:14 Literally “sped forth and returned”
- Ezekiel 1:15 Or “ground”
- Ezekiel 1:15 Literally “the living creatures for the four of his/its faces.” The LXX has “for the four of them.”
- Ezekiel 1:16 Or “chrysolite,” or “topaz”; this stone is difficult to identify exactly
- Ezekiel 1:16 Literally “likeness was one for the four of them”
- Ezekiel 1:16 Literally “as that it was a wheel in the midst of a wheel”
- Ezekiel 1:17 Literally “turn away when they went”
- Ezekiel 1:18 Literally “height was for them and awesomeness was for them”
- Ezekiel 1:18 Literally “of the four of them”
- Ezekiel 1:19 Literally “and at the lifting up of the creatures from the earth”
- Ezekiel 1:20 Literally “Toward which”
- Ezekiel 1:20 Hebrew “creature”
- Ezekiel 1:21 That is, the living creatures
- Ezekiel 1:21 That is, the wheels
- Ezekiel 1:21 Or “ground”
- Ezekiel 1:21 Or “were lifted up”
- Ezekiel 1:21 Hebrew “creature”
- Ezekiel 1:22 Or “And”
- Ezekiel 1:22 Literally “terrible”
- Ezekiel 1:22 Literally “frozen water”
- Ezekiel 1:22 Literally “from to upward”
- Ezekiel 1:23 Literally “each towards its sister”
- Ezekiel 1:24 Often translated “Almighty”
- Ezekiel 1:24 Literally “at their going”
- Ezekiel 1:24 Literally “at their standing”
Ezekiel 1:4-24
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Vision of the Lord’s Glory
4 I looked and there was a whirlwind(A) coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber.(B) 5 The form of four living creatures came from it.(C) And this was their appearance: They had human form, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, sparkling like the gleam of polished bronze.(D) 8 They had human hands under their wings on their four sides.(E) All four of them had faces and wings.(F) 9 Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.(G) 10 The form of each of their faces was that of a man,(H) and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.(I) 11 That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body.(J) 12 Each creature went straight ahead.(K) Wherever the Spirit[a] wanted to go, they went without turning as they moved.(L)
13 The form of the living creatures was like the appearance of burning coals of fire and torches.(M) Fire was moving back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, with lightning coming out of it. 14 The creatures were darting back and forth(N) like flashes of lightning.(O)
15 When I looked at the living creatures, there was one wheel on the ground beside each creature that had four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels(P) and their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl,(Q) and all four had the same form. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. 18 Their rims were large and frightening. Each of their four rims were full of eyes(R) all around. 19 So when the living creatures moved,(S) the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever the Spirit[b] wanted to go, the creatures went in the direction the Spirit was moving. The wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 The shape of an expanse,(T) with a gleam like awe-inspiring crystal,(U) was spread out over the heads of the living creatures.(V) 23 And under the expanse their wings extended one toward another. Each of them also had two wings covering their bodies. 24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of mighty waters,(W) like the voice of the Almighty,(X) and a sound of commotion like the noise of an army.(Y) When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
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- Ezekiel 1:12 Or spirit
- Ezekiel 1:20 Or spirit
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