Ezekiel 1:1-14

I am Ezekiel the son of Buzi, a priest. I was living among the Jewish exiles in Babylon by the River Chebar. One day when I was thirty, the heavens opened before my eyes, and I saw visions of God! It happened on the fifth day of the fourth month during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile. It was then that the word of YAHWEH was powerfully revealed to me, and I felt the mighty hand of YAHWEH come upon me! As I looked into the spirit realm, I saw a fierce whirlwind and a massive cloud coming toward me from the north. Within the approaching cloud I saw raging flames of fire—flames enfolding themselves in flames! And outlining the glory cloud was a radiant light. And in the center of the flashing fire, I saw a substance of blinding brilliance with the appearance of electrum. And I also saw standing in the middle of the storm what seemed to be four creatures, each with the appearance of a man. They looked like this: Each had four faces, and each had four wings. Their legs were straight, but they had hooves like calves. Their hooves were bright and glistening like polished brass. All four of them had faces and wings, and each of the supernatural beings had a pair of human hands under its wings. There were hands on all four sides of the living creatures. They joined one another with their wings, forming a square. When they moved forward in whatever direction, they went together as a group, without turning their bodies. And all four beings had four faces: a human face in front, a lion’s face to the right, an ox’s face to the left, and an eagle’s face in the back. Their wings were divided into two pairs; one pair was extended upward so that each one touched the wingtips of the one next to it, and the other pair covered its body. And each one moved straight forward, moving where the Spirit directed them, and they did not turn as they moved. These living creatures looked like burning coals of fire, like blazing torches. Flames flashed back and forth between the creatures. The light was blinding, and lightning was flashing out of it. And the living creatures kept disappearing and reappearing like shooting stars.