Ezekiel 1

1 And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], on the fifth of the month, as I [was] in the midst of the captivity by the River Kebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

2 On the fifth of the month—it [was] the fifth year of the captivity of king Jehoiachin—

3 the word of YHWH came directly to Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar; And there the hand of YHWH was upon him.

4 And I looked, and behold, a wind of a tempest was coming from the north, and a great cloud and fire taking hold [of it], and a brightness to it all around, and in the midst of it [was] like the color of amber, from the midst of the fire.

5 And in the midst of it [was] the likeness of four living creatures. And this [was] their appearance: The likeness of a man [was] unto them,

6 [with] four faces for each one, and four wings for each one unto them.

7 And their feet [were] straight feet, and the soles of their feet [were] like the soles of the foot of a calf, and they sparkled like an eye of polished bronze.

8 And the hands of a man [were] under their wings on four of their sides. And the faces and wings [were] unto the four of them,

9 joining each one to her sister; their wings did not turn in their going, [each] man went to straight ahead.

10 And the likeness of their faces, [was] the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side [was] unto the four of them; and the face of an ox on the left side [was] unto the four of them, and the face of an eagle [was] unto the four of them.

11 And such [were] their faces. And their wings were spread out above each one; unto each one [were] two touching one, and two were covering their bodies.

12 And each one went toward straight ahead of its face; to the [direction] that there the spirit was to go, they would go, [and] they did not turn in their going.

13 And the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like coals of fire burning, like the appearance of torches; it was going about among the living creatures, and brightness [was] unto the fire, and from the fire was going forth lightning.

14 And the living creatures [were] running and returning like the appearance of the lightning.

15 And I looked [at] the living creatures, and behold, a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one with his four faces.

16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings [was] like an eye of beryl, and a single likeness unto four of them; and their appearance and of their workings [was] as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

17 Upon their four sides, in their going they went, [and] they did not turn aside in their going.

18 And [unto] their rims [was] height to them and fearsomeness to them, and their rims [were] full of eyes all around for the four of them.

19 And in the going of the living creatures, the wheels went beside them; and in the lifting up of the living creatures from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

20 Upon which the spirit was to go, there they would go; there the spirit [was] to go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in the wheels.

21 In their going they go, and in their standing they stand; and in their being lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures [was] in the wheels.

22 And the likeness over the heads of the living creatures [was] the firmament, like an eye of awe-inspiring crystal, stretched out over their heads above.

23 And under the firmament their wings [were] straight, each one toward its sister; for each one [were] two [as] a covering for them, and for each one [were] two covering for them their body.

24 And I heard the voice of their wings, like the voice of many waters, like the voice of Shaddai, in their going—the voice of a tumult like the voice of an army—and in their standing, they would slacken their wings.

25 And there was a voice from over the firmament that [was] over their heads; in their standing they would slacken their wings.

26 And from above the firmament that [was] over their heads, in appearance like a stone of sapphire, [was] the likeness of a throne, and on the likeness of the throne [was] a likeness like the appearance of a man over it from above.

27 And I saw as an eye of amber, like the appearance of fire, a house for it all around, from the appearance of His loins and above; and from the appearance of His loins and downward, I saw as the appearance of fire and brightness to it all around.

28 As the appearance of a rainbow that comes to be in the cloud on a day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness surrounding. It [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of YHWH. And I saw [it], and I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice speaking.