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.

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.

15 ^aNow as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.⁴ 16 ^aAs for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like ^bthe gleaming of beryl. ^cAnd the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 ^dWhen they went, they went ^ein any of their four directions^{5 f}without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, ^gand the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 ^hAnd when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; ⁱand when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 ^jWherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, ^jfor the spirit of the living creatures⁶ was in the wheels. 21 ^hWhen those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; ⁱand when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, ^jfor the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

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;⁷ 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.⁸ 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.

1 Then I looked, and behold, ^xon the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something ^ylike a sapphire,¹ in appearance like a throne. 2 And he said to ^zthe man clothed in linen, “Go in among ^athe whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with ^bburning coals from between the cherubim, and ^cscatter them over the city.”

And he went in ^dbefore my eyes. 3 Now the cherubim were standing ^eon the south side of the house, when the man went in, and ^fa cloud filled ^gthe inner court. 4 And ^hthe glory of the Lord ⁱwent up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house ^fwas filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with ^jthe brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And ^kthe sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, ^klike the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 And when he commanded ^lthe man clothed in linen, ^m“Take fire from between ⁿthe whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have ^othe form of a human hand under their wings.

9 ^pAnd I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and ^qthe appearance of the wheels was ^rlike sparkling ^sberyl. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 ^tWhen they went, they went in any of their four directions^{2 u}without turning as they went, ^vbut in whatever direction the front wheel³ faced, the others followed without turning as they went. 12 ^wAnd their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,⁴ and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ⁿ“the whirling wheels.” 14 ^xAnd every one had four faces: ^ythe first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was ^za human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 ^aAnd the cherubim mounted up. These were ^bthe living creatures that I saw by ^cthe Chebar canal. 16 ^dAnd when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And ^dwhen the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 ^eWhen they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures⁵ was in them.

18 ^fThen ^gthe glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 ^hAnd the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth ⁱbefore my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the ^jeast gate of the house of the Lord, and ^kthe glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 ^lThese were the living creatures that I saw ^munderneath the God of Israel by ⁿthe Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 ^oEach had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings ^pthe likeness of human hands. 22 ^qAnd as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. ^rEach one of them went straight forward.