2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and athe hand of the Lord was upon him there.
4 Then I looked, and behold, aa whirlwind was coming bout of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
5aAlso from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And bthis was their appearance: they had cthe likeness of a man.
6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
7 Their1 legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled alike the color of burnished bronze.
8aThe hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings.
9 Their wings touched one another. Thecreatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight aforward.
10 As for athe likeness of their faces, eachbhad the face of a man; each of the four had cthe face of a lion on the right side, deach of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, eand each of the four had the face of an eagle.
11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and atwo covered their bodies.
12 And aeach one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, alike the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.
14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, ain appearance like a flash of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, aa wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces.
16aThe appearance of the wheels and their workings wasblike the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went.
18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims wereafull of eyes, all around the four of them.
19aWhen 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.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, afor the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
21 When 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 the1 living creatures was in the wheels.
22aThe likeness of the1 firmament above the heads of the2 living creatures was like the color of an awesome bcrystal, stretched out cover their heads.
23 And under the firmament their wings spreadout 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.
24aWhen they went, I heard the noise of their wings, blike the noise of many waters, like cthe voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings.
25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.
26aAnd above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, bin appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above cit.
27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward aI saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.
28aLike the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. bThis was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it,cI fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
A whirlwind came out of the north - Nebuchadnezzar, whose land, Babylonia, lay north of Judea. Chaldea is thus frequently denominated by Jeremiah.
A great cloud, and a fire infolding itself - A mass of fire concentrated in a vast cloud, that the flames might be more distinctly observable, the fire never escaping from the cloud, but issuing, and then returning in upon itself. It was in a state of powerful agitation; but always involving itself, or returning back to the center whence it appeared to issue.
A brightness was about it - A fine tinge of light surrounded the cloud, in order to make its limits the more discernible; beyond which verge the turmoiling fire did not proceed.
The color of amber - This was in the center of the cloud; and this amber-coloured substance was the center of the laboring flame. The word , which we translate amber, was used to signify a compound metal, very bright, made of gold and brass.
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