1:1  Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I stood by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.

1:2  (On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile,

1:3  the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the LORD came upon him.)

1:4  As I looked, behold, a storm wind came from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.

1:5  Within it I saw figures resembling four living beings And this I noted as their appearance: they had human form.

1:6  Each of them had four faces and four wings.

1:7  Their legs looked straight and their feet resembled a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze.

1:8  Under their wings on their four sides appeared human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them,

1:9  their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward.

1:10  As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle.

1:11  Such appeared their faces. Their wings spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies.

1:12  And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.

1:13  In the midst of the living beings there appeared something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire appeared bright, and lightning flashed from the fire.

1:14  And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.

1:15  Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, I saw one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.

1:16  The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship resembled sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship seeming as if one wheel located within another.

1:17  Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved.

1:18  As for their rims they appeared lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them appeared full of eyes round about.

1:19   Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also.

1:20   Wherever the spirit would go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings located in the wheels.

1:21   Whenever 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 beings lived in the wheels.

1:22  Now over the heads of the living beings there looked something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads.

1:23  Under the expanse their wings stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other.

1:24  I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.

1:25  And there came a voice from above the expanse that appeared over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.

1:26  Now above the expanse that appeared over their heads something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, I saw a figure with the appearance of a man.

1:27  Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like 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 extended a radiance around Him.

1:28  As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so seemed the appearance of the surrounding radiance Such seemed the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.