Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord Gives Ezekiel Visions of His Glory

1 I was 30 years old. I was with my people. We had been taken away from our country. We were by the Kebar River in the land of Babylon. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the heavens were opened. I saw visions of God.

² It was the fifth day of the month. Jehoiachin had been king of Judah. It was the fifth year since he had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner. ³ A message from the Lord came to me. I was by the Kebar River in Babylon. The power of the Lord came on me there. I am Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi.

⁴ I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. I saw a huge cloud. The fire of lightning was flashing out of it. Bright light surrounded it. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal. ⁵ I saw in the fire something that looked like four living creatures. They appeared to have the shape of a human being. ⁶ But each of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight. Their feet looked like the feet of a calf. They were as bright as polished bronze. ⁸ The creatures had human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings. ⁹ The wings of one touched the wings of another. Each of the creatures went straight ahead. They didn’t change their direction as they moved.

¹⁰ Here’s what their faces looked like. Each of the four creatures had the face of a human being. On the right side each had the face of a lion. On the left each had the face of an ox. Each one also had an eagle’s face. ¹¹ That’s what their faces looked like. They each had two wings that spread out and lifted up. Each wing touched the wing of another creature on either side. They each had two other wings that covered their bodies. ¹² All the creatures went straight ahead. Anywhere their spirits would lead them to go, they would go. They didn’t change their direction as they went. ¹³ The living creatures looked like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures. It was bright. Lightning flashed out of it. ¹⁴ The creatures raced back and forth like flashes of lightning.

¹⁵ As I looked at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground beside them. Each creature had four faces. ¹⁶ Here’s how the wheels looked and worked. They gleamed like topaz. All four of them looked alike. Each one seemed to be made like a wheel inside another wheel at right angles. ¹⁷ The wheels could go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced. The wheels didn’t change their direction as the creatures moved. ¹⁸ Their rims were high and terrifying. All four rims were full of eyes all the way around them.

¹⁹ When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved. When the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. ²⁰ Anywhere their spirits would lead them to go, they would go. And the wheels would rise along with them. That’s because the spirits of the living creatures were in the wheels. ²¹ When the living creatures moved, the wheels also moved. When the creatures stood still, they also stood still. When the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them. That’s because the spirits of the living creatures were in the wheels.

²² Something that looked like a huge space was spread out above the heads of the living creatures. It gleamed like crystal. It was terrifying. ²³ The wings of the creatures were spread out under the space. They reached out toward one another. Each creature had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ When the living creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings. It was like the roar of rushing waters. It sounded like the thundering voice of the Mighty God. It was like the loud noise an army makes. When the creatures stood still, they lowered their wings.

²⁵ Then a voice came from above the huge space over their heads. They stood with their wings lowered. ²⁶ Above the space over their heads was something that looked like a throne made out of lapis lazuli. On the throne high above was a figure that appeared to be a man. ²⁷ From his waist up he looked like glowing metal that was full of fire. From his waist down he looked like fire. Bright light surrounded him. ²⁸ The glow around him looked like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day.

That’s what the glory of the Lord looked like. When I saw it, I fell with my face toward the ground. Then I heard the voice of someone speaking.

The Lord Appoints Ezekiel to Speak for Him

2 He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet. I will speak to you.”

²³ Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Peter Goes to the House of Cornelius

The next day Peter went with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went along. ²⁴ The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them. He had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him. As a sign of respect, he fell at Peter’s feet. ²⁶ But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said. “I am only a man myself.”

²⁷ As he was talking with Cornelius, Peter went inside. There he found a large group of people. ²⁸ He said to them, “You know that it is against our law for a Jew to enter a Gentile home. A Jew shouldn’t have any close contact with a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not say anyone is not pure and ‘clean.’ ²⁹ So when you sent for me, I came without asking any questions. May I ask why you sent for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius answered, “Three days ago at this very hour I was in my house praying. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood in front of me. ³¹ He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer. He has remembered your gifts to poor people. ³² Send someone to Joppa to get Simon Peter. He is a guest in the home of another Simon, who works with leather. He lives by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you right away. It was good of you to come. Now we are all here. And God is here with us. We are ready to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”