1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, that I was in the midst of the captivity by the river of Chobar; and the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month; this was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joakim. 3 And the word of the Lord came to Jezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river of Chobar; and the hand of the Lord was upon me. 4 And I looked, and, behold, a sweeping wind came from the north, and a great cloud on it, and [there was] brightness round about it, and gleaming fire, and in the midst of it as it were the appearance of amber in the midst of the fire, and brightness in it. 5 And in the midst as it were the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; the likeness of a man was upon them. 6 And each one [had] four faces, and each one [had] four wings. 7 And their legs were straight; and their feet were winged, and [there were] sparks, like gleaming brass, and their wings were light. 8 And the hand of a man was under their wings on their four sides. 9 And the faces of them four turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10 And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right to the four; and the face of a calf on the left to the four; and the face of an eagle to the four. 11 And the four had their wings spread out above; each one [had] two joined to one another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And each one went straight forward: wherever the spirit was going they went, and turned not back. 13 And in the midst of the living creatures [there was] an appearance as of burning coals of fire, as an appearance of lamps turning among the living creatures; and the brightness of fire, and out of the fire came forth lightning. 15 And I looked, and, behold, the four [had each] one wheel on the ground near the living creatures. 16 And the appearance of the wheels was as the appearance of beryl: and the four had one likeness: and their work was as it were a wheel in a wheel. 17 They went on their four sides: they turned not as they went; 18 neither did their backs [turn]: and they were high: and I beheld them, and the backs of them four were full of eyes round about. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures lifted themselves off the earth, the wheels were lifted off. 20 Wherever the cloud happened to be, there was the spirit ready to go: the wheels went and were lifted up with them; because the spirit of life was in the wheels. 21 When those went, [the wheels] went; and when those stood, [the wheels] stood; and when those lifted themselves off the earth, they were lifted off with them: for the spirit of life was in the wheels. 22 And the likeness over the heads of the living creatures was as a firmament, as the appearance of crystal, spread out over their wings above. 23 And their wings were spread out under the firmament, reaching one to the other; two [wings] to each, covering their bodies. 24 And I heard the sound of their wings when they went, as the sound of much water: and when they stood, their wings were let down. 25 And lo! a voice from above the firmament 26 that was over their head, [there was] as the appearance of a sapphire stone, [and] the likeness of a throne upon it: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as an appearance of a man above. 27 And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber from the appearance of the loins and upwards, and from the appearance of the loins and under I saw an appearance of fire, and the brightness thereof round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow when it is in the cloud in days of rain, so was the form of the brightness round about.
Ezekiel · Brenton's English Septuagint
Ezekiel 1 Brenton's English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (2)
- Square brackets mark words Brenton supplied for English sense.
- Old Testament only (no New Testament). First printed 1844; the 1851 edition added the deuterocanonical books.
There is no verse 14 in this translation; the verses after it keep their usual numbers.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Buzi
Cross references (27)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Matthew 3:16; Acts 7:56; Revelation 19:11; Ezekiel 11:24; Revelation 4:1
- 2 2 Kings 24:12–15; Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 20:1; Ezekiel 40:1; Ezekiel 29:17
- 3 Ezekiel 3:22; Ezekiel 3:14; 2 Kings 3:15; 1 Kings 18:46; Ezekiel 8:1
- 4 Ezekiel 1:27; Ezekiel 8:2; Jeremiah 23:19; Jeremiah 1:13–14; Isaiah 21:1
- 5 Revelation 4:6–8; Revelation 6:6; Ezekiel 1:26
- 6 Ezekiel 10:14; Ezekiel 10:21–22; Ezekiel 1:8–11; Isaiah 6:2; Exodus 25:20
- 7 Revelation 1:15; Daniel 10:6; Ezekiel 1:13; Psalm 104:4; Leviticus 11:47
- 8 Ezekiel 10:21; Ezekiel 10:18; Ezekiel 10:11; Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 10:2
- 9 Ezekiel 10:22; Ezekiel 1:11–12; Luke 9:62; 2 Chronicles 3:11–12; 1 Corinthians 1:10
- 10 Ezekiel 10:14; Revelation 4:7; 1 Corinthians 9:9–10; Luke 15:10; Deuteronomy 28:49
- 11 Isaiah 6:2; Ezekiel 1:23; Ezekiel 10:16; Ezekiel 10:19
- 12 Ezekiel 1:9; Ezekiel 1:20–21; Ezekiel 10:22; Hebrews 1:14; Ezekiel 1:17
- 13 Psalm 104:4; Revelation 4:5; Revelation 10:1; Daniel 10:5–6; Matthew 28:3
- 15 Daniel 7:9; Ezekiel 10:9; Ezekiel 1:19–21; Revelation 4:7; Ezekiel 1:6
- 16 Daniel 10:6; Ezekiel 10:9–11; Psalm 40:5; Psalm 36:6; Exodus 39:13
- 17 Ezekiel 1:9; Ezekiel 1:12; Ezekiel 10:1–11; Isaiah 55:11
- 18 Ezekiel 10:12; Revelation 4:6; Revelation 4:8; Psalm 97:2–5; Psalm 77:16–19
- 19 Ezekiel 10:16; Ezekiel 10:19; Psalm 103:20
- 20 Ezekiel 1:12; Ezekiel 10:17; 1 Corinthians 14:32; Zechariah 6:1–8
- 21 Ezekiel 10:17; Ezekiel 1:19–20; Romans 8:2
- 22 Ezekiel 10:1; Ezekiel 1:26; Revelation 4:6; Job 37:22; Exodus 24:10
- 23 Psalm 89:7; Ezekiel 1:24; Job 4:18; Ezekiel 1:11–12; Luke 17:10
- 24 Ezekiel 43:2; Daniel 10:6; Revelation 1:15; Psalm 29:3–9; Revelation 19:6
- 25 Ezekiel 1:22
- 26 Ezekiel 10:1; Exodus 24:10; Revelation 1:13; Daniel 10:18; Ezekiel 1:22
- 27 Ezekiel 1:4; Ezekiel 8:2; Hebrews 12:29; Psalm 97:2; Psalm 50:3
- 28 Revelation 10:1; Revelation 4:3; Genesis 17:3; Ezekiel 3:23; Exodus 24:16
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
He saw the likeness of the glory of the Lord; not the Lord Himself, but the likeness of His glory, not the glory itself, as it really is.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
… Ezekiel the Prophet even made a description of them, as far as was possible, saying that every one has four faces, one of a man, another of a lion, another of an eagle, and another of a calf; and that each one had six wings, and they had eyes on all sides; and that under each one was a …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)