Ezekiel 1:1-28 - Date Of Vision Of Living Creatures And Glory Of The Throne Of Yahweh

¹ And it was in [the] thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, and I [was] in the midst of the exiles by the {Kebar River}. The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth [day] of the month--it was the fifth year of the exile of the king Jehoiachin-- ³ the word of Yahweh {came} clearly to Ezekiel the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of [the] Chaldeans at the {Kebar River}, and the hand of Yahweh was on him there.

⁴ And I looked, and look! A storm wind [was] coming from the north, a great cloud, and fire flashing back and forth, and brightness around [and] {within it}, and from its midst [it was] like [the] outward appearance of amber stone from the midst of the fire. ⁵ And from its midst [was] the likeness of four living creatures, and this [was] their appearance: {a human form}, ⁶ and {each had four faces}, and {each of them had four wings}. ⁷ And their legs [were] straight legs, and the sole of their feet [was] like the sole of [the] foot of a calf, and [they] were sparkling like the outward appearance of polished bronze. ⁸ And under their wings [were] {human hands} on their four sides. And their faces and their wings for the four of them [were as follows]: ⁹ {their wings were touching one another}; {each of them went straight forward}, {without turning right or left}. ¹⁰ The likeness of their faces [was the] face of a human [in front], and [the] face of a lion on the right {of each of them}, and the face of an ox on the left {of each of them}, and [the] face of an eagle {for each of them}. ¹¹ So [were] their faces; their wings [were] spread out {upward}; each [had] two touching one another and two covering their bodies. ¹² And each {went straight forward}; {wherever the spirit went} they went, [and] {they did not turn as they went}.

¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. It [was] moving to and fro between the living creatures, and {the fire was very bright} and lightning [was] going out from the fire. ¹⁴ And the living creatures {were speeding to and fro} like the appearance of lightning.

¹⁵ And I saw the living creatures, and look! A wheel was on the earth beside {each of the living creatures that had four faces}. ¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their construction [was] like [the] appearance of beryl, and {they all looked alike}, and their appearance and their construction [was] {like a wheel within a wheel}. ¹⁷ When they moved, they went toward their four sides; they did not {veer at all as they went}. ¹⁸ And their rims {were high and awesome}, and {all four of} their rims [were] full of eyes [all] around. ¹⁹ And at the going of the living creatures, the wheels next to them [also] went, and {when the creatures were lifted from the ground} the wheels [also] rose. ²⁰ {Wherever} the spirit went they would go there, and the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in the wheels. ²¹ At their going, they go, and at their standing, they stood, and at their being lifted up from on the earth, the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in the wheels.

²² Now [the] likeness above the heads of the living creatures [was] an expanse like the outward appearance of {awesome} {ice} spread out above their heads {upward}. ²³ And under the expanse their wings [were stretched out] straight {one toward the other}; each had two [wings] covering them, and each had two [wings] covering their bodies. ²⁴ And I heard the sound of their wings like [the] sound of many waters, like the voice of Shaddai, [and] {when they moved} [there was] a sound of tumult like [the] sound of an army; {when they stood still} they lowered their wings.

²⁵ And there was a sound from above the expanse that [was] above their heads, {and when they stood} they lowered their wings. ²⁶ And from above the expanse that [was] above their heads [there was] the likeness of a throne, {looking like a sapphire}, and above the likeness of the throne [was] a likeness similar to [the] appearance of a human on it, [but] {above it}. ²⁷ And I saw [something] like [the] outward appearance of amber, [something] like [the] appearance of fire, [with] a covering around [it], from the likeness of his loins and {upward}. And from the likeness of his loins and {downward} I saw [something] like [the] appearance of fire, and {it was radiant all around}. ²⁸ Like the appearance of a bow that is in the cloud on {a rainy day}, such [was] the radiance around it; [thus was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. And I saw, and I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.