Yehezqĕl (Ezekiel) 1
1
1And it came to be in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the new moon, as I was among the exiles by the River Keḇar, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of Elohim.
2On the fifth of the new moon, in the fifth year of Sovereign Yehoyaḵin’s exile,
3the word of יהוה came expressly to Yeḥezqĕl the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Kasdim by the River Keḇar. And the hand of יהוה came upon him there.
4And I looked and saw a whirlwind coming out of the north, a great cloud with fire flashing itself. And brightness was all around it, and out of its midst like glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire,
5and out of the midst of it came what looked like four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
6And each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
7And their feet were straight feet, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calves’ foot. And they sparkled like the appearance of polished bronze,
8and under their wings on their four sides were the hands of a man. And each of the four had faces and wings –
9their wings touched one another. They did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.
10And the likeness of their faces: the face of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, and each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.
11Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward, two of each touched one another, and two covered their bodies.
12And each one went straight forward, going wherever the spirit was to go, and they did not turn when they went.
13And the likeness of the living creatures: their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of torches, moving back and forth among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.
14And the living creatures ran back and forth, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15And I looked at the living creatures, and saw a wheel on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces.
16The appearance of the wheels and their works was like the appearance of beryl, and all four had the same form. The appearance of their works was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17When they went, they went in any one of four directions, they did not turn aside when they went.
18And their rims were high and awesome, and their rims were covered with eyes, all around the four of them.
19And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them. And when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, because there the spirit went. And the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
21When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood. And when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22And a likeness was over the heads of the living creatures, an expanse like the appearance of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads.
23And under the expanse their wings were straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body.
24And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army. And when they stood still, they let down their wings.
25And a voice came from above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood, they dropped their wings.
26And above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone. And on the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man high above it.
27And from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw what looked like glowing metal with the appearance of fire all around within it. And from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw what looked like fire, and brightness all around.
28As the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the esteem of יהוה. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
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Yehezqĕl (Ezekiel) 1: TS2009
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Ezekiel 1
1
A Vision of Living Beings
1On July 31#1:1a Hebrew On the fifth day of the fourth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of dates in Ezekiel can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. This event occurred on July 31, 593 b.c. of my thirtieth year,#1:1b Or in the thirtieth year. while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. 3(The Lord gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians,#1:3 Or Chaldeans. and he felt the hand of the Lord take hold of him.)
4As 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.#1:4 Or like burnished metal; also in 1:27. 5From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, 6except that each had four faces and four wings. 7Their legs were straight, and their feet had hooves like those of a calf and shone like burnished bronze. 8Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings. 9The wings of each living being touched the wings of the beings beside it. Each one moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.
10Each 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. 11Each 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. 12They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.
13The living beings looked like bright coals of fire or brilliant torches, and lightning seemed to flash back and forth among them. 14And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning.
15As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each. 16The 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. 17The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. 18The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around.
19When the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When they flew upward, the wheels went up, too. 20The spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings also went. 21When 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.
22Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal. 23Beneath this surface the wings of each living being stretched out to touch the others’ wings, and each had two wings covering its body. 24As they flew, their wings sounded to me like waves crashing against the shore or like the voice of the Almighty#1:24 Hebrew Shaddai. or like the shouting of a mighty army. When they stopped, they let down their wings. 25As they stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them.
26Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. 27From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. 28All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.
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