Ezekiel 1:4-24
New American Standard Bible
4 As I looked, behold, a (A)high wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like (B)gleaming [a]metal in the midst of the fire. 5 And within it there were figures resembling (C)four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human (D)form. 6 Each of them had (E)four faces and (F)four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and [b]their feet were like a calf’s [c]hoof, and they sparkled like (G)polished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their (H)four sides were human (I)hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did (J)not turn when they moved, each (K)went straight forward. 10 As for the (L)form of their faces, each had a human (M)face; [d]all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and [e]all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and (N)two covering their bodies. 12 And (O)each went straight forward; (P)wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 [f]In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of (Q)fire, [g]like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was [h]flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings (R)ran back and forth like bolts of (S)lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one (T)wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for [i]each of the four of them. 16 The (U)appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like [j]sparkling (V)topaz, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if [k]one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they [l]moved, they [m]moved in any of their four [n]directions without (W)turning as they [o]moved. 18 As for their rims, they were high and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were [p](X)covered with eyes all around. 19 (Y)Whenever the living beings [q]moved, the wheels [r]moved with them. And whenever the living beings (Z)rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 (AA)Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction[s]. And the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living [t]beings was in the wheels. 21 (AB)Whenever those went, they went; and whenever those stopped, they stopped. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living [u]beings was in the wheels.
Vision of Divine Glory
22 Now (AC)over the heads of the living [v]beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had (AD)two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 And I also heard the sound of their wings, like the (AE)sound of abundant waters as they went, like the (AF)voice of [w]the Almighty, a sound of a crowd like the (AG)sound of an army camp; whenever they stopped, they let down their wings.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezekiel 1:4 Heb uncertain; Gr indicates a gold and silver alloy
- Ezekiel 1:7 Lit the sole of their feet
- Ezekiel 1:7 Lit sole of a foot
- Ezekiel 1:10 Lit the four of them
- Ezekiel 1:10 Lit the four of them
- Ezekiel 1:13 As in some ancient versions; MT And the likeness of the living beings
- Ezekiel 1:13 Lit like the appearance of
- Ezekiel 1:13 Lit going out
- Ezekiel 1:15 Lit his four faces
- Ezekiel 1:16 Or the look of topaz
- Ezekiel 1:16 Lit the wheel in the midst of the wheel
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit sides
- Ezekiel 1:17 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:18 Lit full of
- Ezekiel 1:19 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:19 Lit went
- Ezekiel 1:20 MT adds the spirit to go
- Ezekiel 1:20 MT being
- Ezekiel 1:21 MT being
- Ezekiel 1:22 As in some mss and ancient versions; MT being
- Ezekiel 1:24 Heb Shaddai
Ezekiel 1:4-24
New Living Translation
4 As I looked, I saw a great storm coming from the north, driving before it a huge cloud that flashed with lightning and shone with brilliant light. There was fire inside the cloud, and in the middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber.[a] 5 From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, 6 except that each had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and their feet had hooves like those of a calf and shone like burnished bronze. 8 Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings. 9 The wings of each living being touched the wings of the beings beside it. Each one moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.
10 Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back. 11 Each had two pairs of outstretched wings—one pair stretched out to touch the wings of the living beings on either side of it, and the other pair covered its body. 12 They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.
13 The living beings looked like bright coals of fire or brilliant torches, and lightning seemed to flash back and forth among them. 14 And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning.
15 As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each. 16 The wheels sparkled as if made of beryl. All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it. 17 The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. 18 The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around.
19 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When they flew upward, the wheels went up, too. 20 The spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings also went. 21 When the beings moved, the wheels moved. When the beings stopped, the wheels stopped. When the beings flew upward, the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
22 Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal. 23 Beneath this surface the wings of each living being stretched out to touch the others’ wings, and each had two wings covering its body. 24 As they flew, their wings sounded to me like waves crashing against the shore or like the voice of the Almighty[b] or like the shouting of a mighty army. When they stopped, they let down their wings.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
