Old/New Testament
Ezekiel’s First Vision
1 In the thirtieth year,[a] in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was among the exiles by the Kebar Canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth of that month, in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, 3 the word of the Lord came in a dramatic way[b] upon Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans,[c] by the Kebar Canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
The Glory of the Lord Appears
4 As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north. There was a large cloud, with fire flashing through it, and there was a bright light all around it. In the middle of it, there was something that looked like glowing metal[d] in the middle of the fire.
5 In the middle of it I saw what looked like four living creatures. This was what they looked like. Each of them had a human appearance, 6 but each one had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Each of their legs was straight,[e] and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like polished bronze. 8 They had human hands under their wings on all four of their sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
9 Their wings were touching one another. The creatures did not turn from side to side as they moved, but each one faced straight ahead.[f]
10 This is what their faces looked like. Each one had a face like a man’s face. On the right side of their heads, all four of them had a face like a lion. On the left side, all four of them had a face like an ox. All four of them also had a face like an eagle. 11 Those were their faces.
Their wings were stretched upward. Each of them had one pair of wings which touched the wings of each of the cherubs next to it and another pair of wings which covered their bodies.
12 Each one faced straight ahead as it moved. They went in whatever direction the spirit[g] wanted to go. They did not turn as they moved ahead.
13 The appearance of the living creatures was like red-hot coals, like the appearance of blazing torches. Fire was moving back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and lightning was coming out of the fire. 14 The creatures darted back and forth. They looked like jagged bolts of lightning.
15 As I looked at the living creatures, I noticed one wheel on the ground beside each one of the living creatures that had four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their design were like the sparkle of topaz,[h] and the four of them looked alike. Their appearance and their design were like a wheel within a wheel.[i] 17 They could go in any of the four directions when they moved, but the wheels did not turn from side to side when they moved.[j] 18 As for their rims, they were high and intimidating, and their rims were full of eyes all the way around—all four of them. 19 Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and whenever the living creatures would rise from the ground, the wheels rose too.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they would go. Wherever the spirit wanted to go,[k] the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 Whenever the living creatures moved, the wheels would move. Whenever the living creatures stood still, the wheels would stand still. Whenever the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels would rise together with them, because the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
22 There was something above the heads of the living creatures like the dome of a vaulted ceiling.[l] It looked like ice. It was spectacular. It stretched out above their heads. 23 Under the dome, two of their wings were stretched out to touch the wing of another one of the creatures. Each of the creatures also had two wings covering themselves, each had two wings covering themselves—covering their bodies.[m] 24 I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of rushing water. It was like the voice of the Almighty when they moved—a sound of commotion, like the noise in an army camp. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25 A voice came from above the dome that was over their heads. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
26 Above the dome that was over their heads, there was something that appeared to be a sapphire that was shaped like a throne. Seated on that throne-like form there was a figure that looked like a man. 27 I saw something like the gleam of glowing metal[n] with fire in it and all around it. It extended upward from what appeared to be the man’s waist. Below what appeared to be his waist, I saw what appeared to be fire, and a bright light surrounded him. 28 The bright light that surrounded him looked like the rainbow that is in the clouds on a rainy day.
This was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of the Lord. When I saw this, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel’s Call
2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 The Spirit entered into me as he spoke to me and brought me up to my feet. Then I heard him speaking to me.
3 He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel,[o] to disloyal nations, who have been disloyal to me. They and their fathers have rebelled against me to this very day. 4 These children of mine are brazen-faced and hard-hearted. I am sending you to them, and you are to tell them that this is what the Lord God says. 5 Then, whether they listen or do not listen—for they are a rebellious house—then they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6 But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, and do not be afraid of their words. Even though briers and thorns surround you and you are living with scorpions, do not be afraid of their words, and do not be intimidated by the look on their faces, for they are a rebellious house. 7 You are to speak my words to them whether they listen or they do not, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I am telling you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.”
9 Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out toward me, and in it there was a rolled-up scroll. 10 He unrolled it in front of me, and there was writing on both sides. Written on it was: Laments, Groaning, and Woe.
Faith
11 Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see. 2 For by this faith the ancients were commended in Scripture.[a]
3 By faith we know that the universe was created by God’s word, so that what is seen did not come from visible things.
4 By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice to God than Cain did. By faith he was commended in Scripture as righteous; God testified favorably about his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up, so that he would not experience death, and he was not found because God took him away.[b] In fact, before he was taken away, he was commended in Scripture as one who “pleased God.”[c] 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God. Indeed, it is necessary for the one who approaches God to believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when he was warned about things that had not been seen before, built an ark, in reverent fear, in order to save his family. By it he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that is by faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go to a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance, and he left without knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he lived as a stranger in the Promised Land, as if it did not belong to him, dwelling in tents along with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith Abraham also received the ability to conceive children, even though Sarah herself was barren and he was past the normal age, because he considered him faithful who made the promise.[d] 12 And so from one man, and he as good as dead, descendants were born as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand along the seashore.
13 One by one, all of these died in faith, without having received the things that were promised, but they saw and welcomed them from a distance. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 Indeed, people who say things like that make it clear that they are looking for a land of their own. 15 And if they were remembering the land they had come from, they would have had an opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better land—a heavenly one. For that reason, God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered Isaac. This man, who received the promises, was ready to offer his only son, 18 about whom it was said, “Through Isaac your offspring will be traced.”[e] 19 He reasoned that God also had the ability to raise him from the dead, and in a figurative sense, Abraham did receive him back from the dead.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.