Ezekiel Sees the Lord's Glory
1-3 I am Ezekiel—a priest and the son of Buzi.
Five years after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been led away as a prisoner to Babylonia, I was living near the Chebar River among those who had been taken there with him. Then on the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, the heavens suddenly opened. The Lord placed his hand upon me and showed me some visions.
4 I saw a windstorm blowing in from the north. Lightning flashed from a huge cloud and lit up the whole sky with a dazzling brightness. The fiery center of the cloud was as shiny as polished metal, 5 and in that center I saw what looked like four living creatures. They were somewhat like humans, 6 except that each one had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, but their feet looked like the hoofs of calves and sparkled like bronze. 8 Under each of their wings, these creatures had a human hand. 9 The four creatures were standing back to back with the tips of their wings touching. They moved together in every direction, without turning their bodies.
10 Each creature had the face of a human in front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of a bull on the left, and the face of an eagle in back. 11 Two wings of each creature were spread out and touched the wings of the creatures on either side. The other two wings of each creature were folded against its body.
12 The four living creatures went wherever the Spirit led them, and they moved together without turning their bodies, because each creature faced straight ahead. 13 The creatures were glowing like hot coals, and I saw something like a flaming torch moving back and forth among them. Lightning flashed from the torch every time its flame blazed up. 14 The creatures themselves moved as quickly as sparks jumping from a fire.
15 I then noticed that on the ground beside each of the four living creatures was a wheel, 16 shining like chrysolite. Each wheel was exactly the same and had a second wheel that cut through the middle of it, 17 so that they could move in any direction without turning. 18 The rims of the wheels were large and frightening, and they had eyes all the way around them. 19-21 The creatures controlled when and where the wheels moved—the wheels went wherever the four creatures went and stopped whenever they stopped. Even when the creatures flew in the air, the wheels were beside them.
22-23 Above the living creatures, I saw something that was sparkling like ice, and it reminded me of a dome. Each creature had two of its wings stretched out toward the creatures on either side, with the other two wings folded against its body. 24 Whenever the creatures flew, their wings roared like an ocean or a large army or even the voice of God All-Powerful. And whenever the creatures stopped, they folded their wings against their bodies.
25 When the creatures stopped flapping their wings, I heard a sound coming from above the dome. 26 I then saw what looked like a throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the throne was a figure in the shape of a human. 27 From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light, 28 as colorful as a rainbow that appears after a storm.
I realized I was seeing the brightness of the Lord's glory! So I bowed with my face to the ground, and just then I heard a voice speaking to me.
1 It came to passe in the thirtieth yere in the fourth moneth, and in the fift day of the moneth (as I was among the captiues by the riuer Chebar) that the heauens were opened and I sawe visions of GOD. 2 In the fift day of the moneth (which was the fift yere of King Ioiachins captiuitie) 3 The word of the Lord came vnto Ezekiel the Priest, the sonne of Buzi, in the lande of the Caldeans, by the riuer Chebar, where the hande of the Lord was vpon him. 4 And I looked, and beholde, a whirlewinde came out of the North, a great cloude and a fire wrapped about it, and a brightnesse was about it, and in the middes thereof, to wit, in the middes of the fire came out as the likenesse of amber. 5 Also out of the middes therof came the likenesse of foure beastes, and this was their forme: they had the appearance of a man. 6 And euery one had foure faces, and euery one had foure wings. 7 And their feete were streight feete, and the sole of their feete was like the sole of a calues foote, and they sparkled like the appearance of bright brasse. 8 And the handes of a man came out from vnder their wings in the foure parts of them, and they foure had their faces, and their wings. 9 They where ioyned by their wings one to another, and when they went forth, they returned not, but euery one went streight forward. 10 And the similitude of their faces was as the face of a man: and they foure had the face of a lyon on the right side, and they foure had the face of a bullocke on the left side: they foure also had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces: but their wings were spred out aboue: two wings of euery one were ioined one to another, and two couered their bodies. 12 And euery one went streight forward: they went whither their spirit led them, and they returned not when they went forth. 13 The similitude also of the beasts, and their appearance was like burning coles of fire, and like the appearance of lampes: for the fire ran among the beastes, and the fire gaue a glister, and out of the fire there went lightning. 14 And the beastes ranne, and returned like vnto lightning. 15 Nowe as I behelde the beastes, beholde, a wheele appeared vpon the earth by the beastes, hauing foure faces. 16 The facion of the wheeles and their worke was like vnto a chrysolite: and they foure had one forme, and their facion, and their worke was as one wheele in another wheele. 17 Whe they went, they went vpon their foure sides, and they returned not when they went. 18 They had also rings, and height, and were fearefull to beholde, and their rings were full of eyes, round about them foure. 19 And when the beastes went, the wheeles went with them: and when the beasts were lift vp from the earth, the wheeles were lift vp. 20 Whither the spirit led them, they went, and thither did the spirite of the wheeles leade them, and the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirit of the beastes was in the wheeles. 21 When the beastes went, they went, and when they stoode, they stoode, and when they were lifted vp from the earth, the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirite of the beastes was in the wheeles. 22 And the similitude of the firmament vpon the heads of the beasts was wonderfull, like vnto chrystall, spred ouer their heads aboue. 23 And vnder the firmament were their wings streight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which couered the, and euery one had two, which couered their bodies. 24 And when they went foorth, I heard the noyse of their wings, like the noyse of great waters, and as the voyce of the Almightie, euen the voyce of speach, as the noyse of an host: and when they stood, they let downe their wings. 25 And there was a voyce from the firmament, that was ouer their heads, when they stoode, and had let downe their wings. 26 And aboue the firmament that was ouer their heads, was the facion of a throne like vnto a saphir stone, and vpon the similitude of the throne was by appearance, as the similitude of a man aboue vpon it. 27 And I sawe as the appearance of amber, and as the similitude of fire round about within it to looke to, euen from his loynes vpwarde: and to looke to, euen from his loynes downewarde, I sawe as a likenesse of fire, and brightnesse round about it. 28 As the likenesse of the bowe, that is in the cloude in the day of raine, so was the appearance of the light round about. 29 This was the appearance of the similitude of the glorie of the Lord: and when I sawe it, I fell vpon my face, and I heard a voyce of one that spake.