Eze 1 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now it came about in the thirtieth year , on the fifth day of the fourth month , while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles , the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God .

Ezekiel 1

The Vision of Four Figures

1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the ^ariver Chebar among the exiles, the ^bheavens were opened and I saw ^{▼▼ Some ancient mss and versions read a vision
,} ^dvisions of God. 2 (On the fifth of the month ^{▼▼ Lit it was}in the ^ffifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3 the ^gword of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the ^hland of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there ⁱthe hand of the Lord came upon him.)

4 As I looked, behold, a ^jstorm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like ^kglowing metal in the midst of the fire. 5 Within it there were figures resembling ^lfour living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human ^mform. 6 Each of them had ⁿfour faces and ^ofour wings. 7 Their legs were straight and ^{▼▼ Lit the soles of their feet}their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like ^qburnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their ^rfour sides were human ^shands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did ^tnot turn when they moved, each ^uwent straight forward. 10 As for the ^vform of their faces, each had the ^wface of a man; ^{▼▼ Lit the four of them}all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and ^{▼▼ Lit the four of them}all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and ^ztwo covering their bodies. 12 And ^aaeach went straight forward; ^abwherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 ^{▼▼ So with some ancient versions; Heb as the likeness of the living beings}In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of ^adfire, ^{▼▼ Lit like the appearance of}like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was ^{▼▼ Lit coming out}flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings ^agran to and fro like bolts of ^ahlightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one ^aiwheel on the earth beside the living beings, ^{▼▼ Lit for his four faces}for each of the four of them. 16 The ^akappearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like ^{▼▼ Lit the look of beryl}sparkling ^amberyl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if ^{▼▼ Lit the wheel in the midst of the wheel}one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they ^{▼▼ Lit went}moved, they ^{▼▼ Lit went}moved in any of their four ^{▼▼ Lit sides}directions without ^arturning as they ^{▼▼ Lit went}moved. 18 As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were ^atfull of eyes round about. 19 ^auWhenever the living beings ^{▼▼ Lit went}moved, the wheels ^{▼▼ Lit went}moved with them. And whenever the living beings ^axrose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 ^ayWherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction ^{▼▼ M.T. adds the spirit to go}. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living ^{▼▼ M.T. reads being}beings was in the wheels. 21 ^bbWhenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living ^{▼▼ M.T. reads being}beings was in the wheels.

Vision of Divine Glory

22 Now ^bdover the heads of the living ^{▼▼ So some ancient mss and versions; M.T. reads being}beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of ^{▼▼ Or ice}crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had ^bgtwo wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 I also heard the sound of their wings like the ^bhsound of abundant waters as they went, like the ^bivoice of ^{▼▼ Heb Shaddai}the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the ^bksound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the ^blexpanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.

26 Now ^bmabove the expanse that was over their heads there was something ^bnresembling a throne, like ^{▼▼ Heb eben-sappir
,} ^bplapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a ^bqman. 27 Then I ^{▼▼ Lit saw}noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something ^bslike ^{▼▼ Or electrum}glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 As the appearance of the ^burainbow ^{▼▼ Lit which occurs in}in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the ^bwglory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I ^bxfell on my face and heard a voice speaking.