EZEKIEL 1 [†] a In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by  b the Chebar canal,  c the heavens were opened, and I saw  d visions of God. [1] 2[†]On the fifth day of the month (it was  e the fifth year of  f the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel  g the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by  b the Chebar canal, and  h the hand of the LORD was upon him there.

4[†]As I looked, behold,  i a stormy wind came  j out of the north, and a great cloud, with  k brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire,  l as it were gleaming metal. [2] 5[†]And from the midst of it came the likeness of  m four living creatures.  n And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 o but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled  p like burnished bronze. 8Under their wings  q on their four sides  r they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9[†]their wings touched one another.  s Each one of them went straight forward,  q without turning as they went. 10[†]As for the likeness of their faces,  t each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11[†]Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while  u two covered their bodies. 12[†] s And each went straight forward.  v Wherever the spirit [3] would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was  w like burning coals of fire,  w like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures.  x And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14[†]And the living creatures  y darted to and fro,  z like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15[†] a Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. [4] 16[†] a As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like  b the gleaming of beryl.  c And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 d When they went, they went  e in any of their four directions [5]  f without turning as they went. 18[†]And their rims were tall and awesome,  g and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 h And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them;  i and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 j Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them,  j for the spirit of the living creatures [6] was in the wheels. 21 h When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood;  i and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them,  j for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22[†]Over the heads of the living creatures there was  k the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring  l crystal, spread out above their heads. 23And under the expanse their wings were  m stretched out straight, one toward another.  n And each creature had two wings covering its body. 24[†]And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings  o like the sound of many waters, like  p the sound of the  q Almighty, a sound of tumult  r like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25[†]And there came a voice from above  s the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

26[^]And above the expanse over their heads there was  t the likeness of a throne,  t in appearance  u like sapphire; [7] and seated above the likeness of a throne was  v a likeness with a human appearance. 27And  w upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were  x gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and  y there was brightness around him. [8] 28[†]Like the appearance of  z the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of  a the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it,  b I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.