| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. | 1Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. |
| 2This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. | 2(On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile, |
| 3(The LORD gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians, and he felt the hand of the LORD take hold of him.) | 3the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the LORD came upon him.) |
| 4As I looked, I saw a great storm coming from the north, driving before it a huge cloud that flashed with lightning and shone with brilliant light. There was fire inside the cloud, and in the middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber. | 4As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. |
| 5From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, | 5Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. |
| 6except that each had four faces and four wings. | 6Each of them had four faces and four wings. |
| 7Their legs were straight, and their feet had hooves like those of a calf and shone like burnished bronze. | 7Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. |
| 8Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings. | 8Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, |
| 9The wings of each living being touched the wings of the beings beside it. Each one moved straight forward in any direction without turning around. | 9their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. |
| 10Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back. | 10As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. |
| 11Each had two pairs of outstretched wings—one pair stretched out to touch the wings of the living beings on either side of it, and the other pair covered its body. | 11Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. |
| 12They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around. | 12And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. |
| 13The living beings looked like bright coals of fire or brilliant torches, and lightning seemed to flash back and forth among them. | 13In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. |
| 14And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning. | 14And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning. |
| 15As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each. | 15Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. |
| 16The wheels sparkled as if made of beryl. All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it. | 16The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. |
| 17The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. | 17Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. |
| 18The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around. | 18As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. |
| 19When the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When they flew upward, the wheels went up, too. | 19Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. |
| 20The spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings also went. | 20Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. |
| 21When the beings moved, the wheels moved. When the beings stopped, the wheels stopped. When the beings flew upward, the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. | 21Whenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. |
| 22Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal. | 22Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. |
| 23Beneath this surface the wings of each living being stretched out to touch the others’ wings, and each had two wings covering its body. | 23Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. |
| 24As they flew, their wings sounded to me like waves crashing against the shore or like the voice of the Almighty or like the shouting of a mighty army. When they stopped, they let down their wings. | 24I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. |
| 25As they stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them. | 25And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. |
| 26Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. | 26Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. |
| 27From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. | 27Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. |
| 28All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the LORD looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me. | 28As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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