Ezekiel 1

Ezekiel’s Vision by the River Kebar

(Psalms 137:1–9)

¹In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.1

²On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— ³the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.

The Four Living Creatures

⁴I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber, ⁵and within it was the form of four living creatures.

And this was their appearance: They had a human form, ⁶but each had four faces and four wings. ⁷Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming like polished bronze.

⁸Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings, ⁹and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.

¹⁰The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle. ¹¹Such were their faces.

Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. ¹²Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they moved.

¹³In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. ¹⁴The creatures were darting back and forth as quickly as flashes of lightning.

The Four Wheels

¹⁵When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. ¹⁶The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel. ¹⁷As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. ¹⁸Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. ¹⁹So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.

²⁰Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

The Divine Glory

²²Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal. ²³And under the expanse, their wings stretched out toward one another. Each one also had two wings covering its body.

²⁴When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army.

When they stood still, they lowered their wings. ²⁵And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood still with their wings lowered.

²⁶Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man. ²⁷From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him.

²⁸The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.