Ezekiel in Babylon

1 ^aIn the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by ^bthe Chebar canal, ^cthe heavens were opened, and I saw ^dvisions of God.¹ 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was ^ethe fifth year of ^fthe exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel ^gthe priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by ^bthe Chebar canal, and ^hthe hand of the Lord was upon him there.

The Glory of the Lord

4 As I looked, behold, ⁱa stormy wind came ^jout of the north, and a great cloud, with ^kbrightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, ^las it were gleaming metal.² 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of ^mfour living creatures. ⁿAnd this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 ^obut each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled ^plike burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings ^qon their four sides ^rthey had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another. ^sEach one of them went straight forward, ^qwithout turning as they went. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, ^teach had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while ^utwo covered their bodies. 12 ^sAnd each went straight forward. ^vWherever the spirit³ would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was ^wlike burning coals of fire, ^wlike the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. ^xAnd the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ^ydarted to and fro, ^zlike the appearance of a flash of lightning.

22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was ^kthe likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring ^lcrystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were ^mstretched out straight, one toward another. ⁿAnd each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings ^olike the sound of many waters, like ^pthe sound of the ^qAlmighty, a sound of tumult ^rlike the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above ^sthe expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 And above the expanse over their heads there was ^tthe likeness of a throne, ^tin appearance ^ulike sapphire;¹ and seated above the likeness of a throne was ^va likeness with a human appearance. 27 And ^wupward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were ^xgleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and ^ythere was brightness around him.² 28 Like the appearance of ^zthe bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of ^athe glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, ^bI fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^aa servant¹ of Christ Jesus, ^bcalled to be an apostle, ^cset apart for the gospel of God, 2 which ^dhe promised beforehand ^ethrough his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, ^fwho was descended from David^{2 g}according to the flesh 4 and ^hwas declared to be the Son of God ⁱin power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom ^jwe have received grace and ^kapostleship ^lto bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name ^mamong all the nations, 6 including you who are ⁿcalled to belong to Jesus Christ,

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

^oGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Longing to Go to Rome

8 First, ^pI thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, ^qbecause your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 ^rFor God is my witness, ^swhom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, ^tthat without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow ^uby God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For ^vI long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged ^wby each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,³ that ^xI have often intended to come to you (but ^ythus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some ^zharvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 ^aI am under obligation both to Greeks and to ^bbarbarians,⁴ both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

16 For ^dI am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ^ethe power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew ^ffirst and also to ^gthe Greek. 17 For in it ^hthe righteousness of God is revealed ⁱfrom faith for faith,^{5 j}as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”⁶