| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 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. | 1In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles at the Kebar River, the heavens opened and I saw a divine vision. |
| 2This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. | 2(On the fifth day of the month--it was 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 to the priest Ezekiel the son of Buzi, at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. The hand of the LORD came on him there). |
| 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 watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north--an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, such that bright light rimmed it and came from it like glowing amber from the middle of a fire. |
| 5From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, | 5In the fire were what looked like four living beings. In their appearance they had human form, |
| 6except that each had four faces and four wings. | 6but each 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, but the soles of their feet were like calves' feet. They gleamed like polished bronze. |
| 8Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings. | 8They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. 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 each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead. |
| 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. | 10Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left and also 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. | 11Their wings were spread out above them; each had two wings touching the wings of one of the other beings on either side and two wings covering their bodies. |
| 12They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around. | 12Each moved straight ahead--wherever the spirit would 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 middle of the living beings was something like burning coals of fire or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire. |
| 14And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning. | 14The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning. |
| 15As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each. | 15Then I looked, and I saw one wheel on the ground beside each of the four beings. |
| 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 construction was like gleaming jasper, and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. |
| 17The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. | 17When they moved they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved. |
| 18The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around. | 18Their rims were high and awesome, and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around. |
| 19When the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When they flew upward, the wheels went up, too. | 19When the living beings moved, the wheels beside them moved; when the living beings rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up too. |
| 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 would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel. |
| 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. | 21When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped. When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel. |
| 22Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal. | 22Over the heads of the living beings was something like a platform, glittering awesomely like ice, stretched 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 platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering its body. |
| 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. | 24When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings--it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Almighty, or the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. |
| 25As they stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them. | 25Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. |
| 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. | 26Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be 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. | 27I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, |
| 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. | 28like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking. |
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