Ezekiel 1
1 And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day of the month I being in the midst of them of the captivity, by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
Now it came about in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was by the river Chebar among those who had been made prisoners, that the heavens were made open and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month, that was the fifth year of the captivity of King Jehoiachin,
On the fifth day of the month, in the fifth year after King Jehoiachin had been made a prisoner,
3 in very deed came the word of Yahweh unto Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, —yea the hand of Yahweh, came on him there.
The word of the Lord came to me, Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldaeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was on me there.
4 So then I beheld and lo! a tempestuous wind coming out of the North, a great cloud and a fire catching hold of itself, and it had a brightness round about, —and out of the midst thereof, as burnished copper to look upon out of the midst of the fire;
And, looking, I saw a storm-wind coming out of the north, a great cloud with flames of fire coming after one another, and a bright light shining round about it and in the heart of it was something coloured like electrum.
5 and out of the midst thereof, a likeness of four living ones, and this was their appearance, the likeness of a man, had they;
And in the heart of it were the forms of four living beings. And this was what they were like; they had the form of a man.
6 and four faces each, and four wings each, had they;
And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.
7 and their feet were straight feet, —and the sole of their feet was like the sole of the foot of a calf, but sparkling, as shining bronze to look upon;
And their feet were straight feet; and the under sides of their feet were like the feet of oxen; and they were shining like polished brass.
8 and the hands of a man! were under their wings, on their four sides, —and their faces and their wings belonged to the four of them:
And they had the hands of a man under their wings; the four of them had faces on their four sides.
9 joined to each other, were their wings, —they turned not when they went, each one straight before him, did they go;
They went without turning, every one went straight forward.
10 and the likeness of their faces was the face of a man, with the face of a lion to the right of the four of them, and the face of an ox on the left, of the four of them, —the face of an eagle, also had they four;
As for the form of their faces, they had the face of a man, and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four of them had the face of an eagle.
11 and their wings were spread above, — two of each joined one another, and two covered their bodies;
And their wings were separate at the top; two of the wings of every one were joined one to another, and two were covering their bodies.
12 and each one straight before him, did they go, —whithersoever the spirit was minded to go, they went, they turned not when they went.
Every one of them went straight forward; wherever the spirit was to go they went; they went on without turning.
13 As for the likeness of the living ones, their appearance was like live coals of fire burning up like the appearance of torches, the same went to and fro between the living ones, —and the fire had brightness and out of the fire, went forth a lightning.
And between the living beings it was like burning coals of fire, as if flames were going one after the other between the living beings; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went thunder-flames.
14 And the living ones ran and returned, —like the appearance of a flash of lightning.
And the living beings went out and came back as quickly as a thunder-flame.
15 And I looked at the living ones, —and lo! one wheel upon the earth beside the living ones for each of his four faces,
Now while I was looking at the four living beings, I saw one wheel on the earth, by the side of the living beings, for the four of them.
16 The appearance of the wheels and of their structure was like a Tarshish-stone to look upon, and they four had one likeness, —and their appearance and their structure were just as would be a wheel in the midst of a wheel.
The form of the wheels and their work was like a beryl; the four of them had the same form and design, and they were like a wheel inside a wheel.
17 Upon their four sides, when they went, so did they go, —they turned not when they went.
The four of them went straight forward without turning to one side.
18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were terrible, -and their rings full of eyes round about, had they four.
And I saw that they had edges, and their edges, even of the four, were full of eyes round about.
19 And when the living ones went, the wheels went beside them, —and when the living ones were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up:
And when the living beings went on, the wheels went by their side; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 whithersoever the spirit was minded to go, they went—thither was the spirit minded to go, —and the wheels would be lifted up along with them, for the spirit of the living one was in the wheels:
Wherever the spirit was to go they went; and the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
21 when they went, these went, and when they stood, these stood, —and when they were lifted up from off the earth, the wheels were lifted up along with them, for the spirit of the living one was in the wheels.
When these went on, the others went; and when these came to rest, the others came to rest; and when these were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
22 And there was a likeness over the heads of the living one—an expanse, like terrible crystal to look upon, -stretched forth over their heads above.
And over the heads of the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched out over their heads on high.
23 And under the expanse, their wings were straight, one towards another, —each one had two covering on this side, and each one had two covering on that side, their bodies.
Under the arch their wings were straight, one stretched out to another: every one had two wings covering their bodies on this side and two covering their bodies on that side.
24 And I heard the sound of their wings, as the sound of many waters, as the sound of the Almighty, when they went, the sound of a storm as the sound of a host, —when they stood, they let down their wings,
And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings.
25 And there was a voice above the expanse that was over their head, —when they stood, they let down their wings.
And there was a voice from the top of the arch which was over their heads: when they came to rest they let down their wings.
26 And above the expanse that was over their heads, as the appearance of a sapphire stone, was the likeness of a throne, —and upon the likeness of a throne, was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above.
And on the top of the arch which was over their heads was the form of a king's seat, like a sapphire stone; and on the form of the seat was the form of a man seated on it on high.
27 And I saw as burnished copper to look upon, as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upwards and from the appearance of his loins and downwards, saw I as the appearance of fire, and he had brightness round about:
And I saw it coloured like electrum, with the look of fire in it and round it, going up from what seemed to be the middle of his body; and going down from what seemed to be the middle of his body I saw what was like fire, and there was a bright light shining round him.
28 as the appearance of the bow which is in a cloud on a day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about, that was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh, and when I saw, I fell upon my face, and heard a voice of one speaking.
Like the bow in the cloud on a day of rain, so was the light shining round him. And this is what the glory of the Lord was like. And when I saw it I went down on my face, and the voice of one talking came to my ears.
