Ezekiel 1

The Vision Begins by the River

1 I was thirty years old, fourth month, fifth day. I was posted up with the exiles by the Kebar River when the sky split wide open, and God started showing me visions.

2 This happened in the fifth year after King Jehoiachin was dragged off into captivity.

3 The word of the LORD came straight to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, while he was by the Kebar River in Babylon, and the hand of the LORD came down heavy on him right there.

The Storm and the Living Creatures

4 I looked up and saw a violent windstorm coming out of the north. A massive cloud was rolling in, fire flashing nonstop, light shining all around it, and right in the middle of the fire was something glowing like polished metal.

5 Out of the fire came the shape of four living beings. They looked human,

6 but each one had four faces and four wings.

7 Their legs were straight, their feet shined like polished bronze, shaped like a calf’s hoof.

8 Under their wings on all four sides were human hands. All four had faces and wings,

9 and their wings touched one another. They did not turn when they moved; each one went straight forward.

10 Their faces were like this: each had a human face in front, a lion’s face on the right, an ox’s face on the left, and an eagle’s face in the back.

11 Their wings were spread out above them, two wings touching another creature’s wings, and two covering their own bodies.

12 Each one moved straight ahead. Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, they went, without turning as they moved.

13 The living beings looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving back and forth among them. Fire flashed out from them, and lightning shot from the fire.

14 The creatures ran back and forth like flashes of lightning.

The Wheels Within Wheels

15 As I watched the living beings, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each one, one wheel for each of the four faces.

16 The wheels looked like sparkling beryl, all four identical, and each wheel had another wheel inside it.

17 When they moved, they could go in any of the four directions without turning.

18 Their rims were tall and terrifying, and the rims of all four were covered with eyes all around.

19 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When the living beings lifted off the ground, the wheels lifted too.

20 Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose with them, because the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

21 When they moved, the wheels moved. When they stopped, the wheels stopped. When they lifted up, the wheels lifted with them, because the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

The Throne Above the Creatures

22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a vault, shining like crystal, spread out above them and terrifying to look at.

23 Under the vault their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another, and each had two wings covering their bodies.

24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the roar of a massive army. When they stopped, they dropped their wings.

25 A voice came from above the vault over their heads while they stood still with their wings lowered.

26 Above the vault was something like a throne, looking like sapphire, and on the throne high above was someone who looked like a man.

27 From what looked like His waist up, He glowed like shining metal, full of fire. From His waist down, He looked like fire too, with light shining all around Him.

28 The light around Him looked like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard a voice speaking.