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Bishop's Bible
Ezekiel 10:20
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These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim.
This is the beast that I sawe vnder the God of Israel by the riuer Chebar, and I knewe that they were the Cherubims.
These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Chebar Canal, and I recognized that they were cherubim.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Yisra'el by the river Kevar; and I knew that they were Keruvim.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
These were the living beings under the Glory of the God of Israel in the vision at the Kebar Canal, and now I realized that they were Cherub angels.
These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the River Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Kebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.
I knew for sure that these were the same creatures I had seen beneath the Lord 's glory near the Chebar River.
This was the living creature I had seen beneath the God of Isra'el by the K'var River, so I knew they were k'ruvim.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
This is the liuing creature that I saw vnder the God of Israel, by the riuer of Chebar, and I knew that they were the Cherubims.
This is the living creature which I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chobar; and I knew that they were cherubs.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
This was the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel at the Kebar River, and I knew that they were cherubim.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubs.
These were the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel by the Kebar River. I knew they were called cherubim.
These were the living creatures which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim.
This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim.
These were the same living beings I had seen beneath the God of Israel when I was by the Kebar River. I knew they were cherubim,
These are the living beings that I saw under the God of Israel by the Chebar River, so I knew that they were cherubim.
These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
The same, was the living one which I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar,- then knew I that cherubim, they were.
This is the living creature, which I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chobar: and I understood that they were cherubims.
These were the living creatures that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubim.
I recognized them as the same creatures which I had seen beneath the God of Israel at the Chebar River.
These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim.
This [is] the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Kebar; and I knew that they [were] the cherubim.
Thilke is the beeste, which Y siy vndur God of Israel, bisidis the flood Chobar. And Y vndurstood that foure cherubyns weren;
It [is] the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I know that they are cherubs.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim.
This is the living being which I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and it was clear to me that they were the winged ones.
This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims.
This is the beest that I sawe vnder the God of Israel, by the water of Cobar. And I perceaued, that it was the Cherubins.
These were the same living creatures I had seen previously beneath the God of Israel at the Kebar River. I recognized them as cherubim. Each had four faces and four wings. Under their wings were what looked like human hands. Their faces looked exactly like those I had seen at the Kebar River. Each went straight ahead.
These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim.
These are the living creatures that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the living: Ezekiel 10:15, Ezekiel 1:22-28, Ezekiel 3:23
the river: Ezekiel 1:1
and I: 1 Kings 6:29-35, 1 Kings 7:36
Reciprocal: Exodus 25:18 - two cherubims of gold Psalms 18:10 - rode Ezekiel 1:28 - This
Cross-References
These are the generations of the sonnes of Noah, Sem, Ham, and Iapheth: and vnto them were chyldren borne after the fludde.
The children of Ham, Chus: and Mizraim, and Phut, and Chanaan.
The same began to be mightie in the earth, for he was a mightie hunter before the Lorde: Wherfore it is sayde, Euen as Nimrod the mightie hunter before the Lorde.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
This [is] the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel, by the river of Chebar,.... This is repeated from
Ezekiel 10:15; not only for the confirmation of it; but with an addition, to show that the appearance of the man upon the throne, Ezekiel 1:26, is no other than the God of Israel; and inasmuch as Christ is there meant, for the Father never appeared in a human form, it follows that Christ is the God of Israel, under whose power, protection, and influence, the cherubim, his ministers, are; and so this is a proof of the true and proper deity of Christ:
and I knew that they [were] the cherubim; not by having seen the cherubim on the mercy seat, and comparing these forms with them, which none but a high priest could ever see; for, though Ezekiel was a priest, it does not appear that he was a high priest; but by the forms of them he had seen carved on the doors and walls of the temple, 1 Kings 6:29.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
In this departure of the glory of the Lord from the temple, the seer recognizes for the first time the full meaning of the vision which he had seen on the banks of Chebar Ezekiel 1:0. What he had seen there (did indeed imply that Yahweh had forsaken His house; but now this is made clear. The Glory has left the holy of holies, has appeared in the court, has been enthroned on the Living Four, and with them has departed from the temple. It is now clear that these Four (in form similar to, yet differing from, the cherubim of the temple) are indeed the cherubim, in the midst of whom the Lord dwelleth.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Ezekiel 10:20. And I knew that they were the cherubims. — This formation of the plural is quite improper. In general, Hebrew nouns of the masculine gender end in ים im, in the plural; the s, therefore, should never be added to such. Cherub is singular; cherubim is plural. The s should be uniformly expunged.
I have already referred to the end of this chapter for farther information relative to this glorious chariot of Jehovah; but I must say that I have met with nothing on the subject that entirely satisfies myself. In the preceding notes I have endeavoured to make the literal meaning as plain as possible; and have occasionally given some intimations relative to the general design of this sublime vision. My readers are already apprised that I do not like conjectures on Divine things; many points, that had originally no other origin, are now incorporated with creeds of which it is deemed sinful to doubt. Because some learned and pious men have written to prove that this symbolical compound figure is a representation of the Holy Trinity; therefore, the sentiment now passes current. Now this is not proved; and I suppose never can be proved. The continuator of the Historical Discourses of Saurin has made some sensible remarks on the subject of this vision; and these I shall lay here before the intelligent reader. They deserve attention.
THIS intelligent writer observes: "For the right interpretation of this vision, the following rules should be laid down: -
"The first rule is this: - An explanation, which accounts for all the parts contained in the vision, is much more probable than those which explain only one part.
"The second is this: - An explanation which is conformable to the present circumstances of the prophet, and of the people to whom he is sent, as well as to the nature of the things which he is called upon to say to them, is incomparably more probable than those explanations which go in quest of past or future events, which have no connexion with the immediate circumstances of the prophet, nor with the end of his mission. These rules, which appear incontestable, being laid down, we observe, that their opinion who think that God here draws out a plan of the government of his providence, applied to the present state of the Jews, accounts for all that Ezekiel saw; and that in a manner which refers to the end of the prophet's mission, and all that he had to say to this rebellious people. Why wish God to represent to his prophet the future state of the Christian Church, which was not to be founded till after a series of time, rather than the state of the Jewish Church, and the chastisements which hung over the heads of that hardened people? The people having revolted from God, and persevering obstinately in that revolt, notwithstanding the menaces of the prophet, it was proper to show to Ezekiel, in order that he might declare it to the rebellious, that Providence had its eyes open to all that had been done, all that had hitherto happened, and that it had seized upon the rod to smite. The people imagined, but too much according to the errors of infidelity, that God saw every thing with indifference and had given the world up to chance. It was necessary, therefore, to divest them of these fatal prejudices; and to teach them that the Supreme Being did not behold with the same eye order and disorder, contempt of his laws and submission to his will; and that all the revolutions of states are directed by a superior intelligence, which cannot be imposed upon. The Jewish people imagined but too much that the prophets exaggerated when they threatened them with the severest chastisements. They repeated with emphasis and complacency the promises of God made to the patriarchs; that their posterity should not only be more numerous than the stars of heaven, and the sand which covers the sea-shore; but that it should subsist for ever and ever. God had declared to Abraham, 'I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee,' Genesis 17:7. It was proper, therefore, to show this stiff-necked people that the threatenings of God and his promises were not contradictory. That the people, conformable to the promises given by God to the patriarchs, should not be destroyed; but that, notwithstanding, they should be severely chastised, to correct them for their propensity to idolatry, and their scandalous irregularities.
"These suppositions, which are reasonable, being granted, we shall have no difficulty to perceive the sense of this celebrated vision. We shall not follow the order observed by Ezekiel, in the description of what he saw; he raises himself from the nearest to the most distant objects, going back from effects to their general cause. We will begin with the First Cause which gives motion to all that happens, traces out the plan, and procures the execution, according to the rules of his ineffable wisdom, and agreeably to the nature of those creatures which are the object of his agency. Next, we will proceed to consider the effects of this universal Providence, and the intelligent secondary causes which he frequently employs in the administration of the government of the universe.
"'Ezekiel saw a firmament which was above the heads of the animals; there was the resemblance of a throne like a sapphire stone; and over the resemblance of the throne, there was, as it were, the resemblance of a man.' This vast transparent firmament represents to us the heaven, the peculiar residence of the Lord of the earth; and where he hath established the throne of his empire. This 'appearance of a man' was the emblem of Providence or God; considered as taking care of all the creatures whom he hath made. Man is the symbol of intelligence. The mind of man, with respect to his knowledge and wisdom, is a weak sketch of that mind which knows all things, and whose wisdom is unbounded. And yet, of all sublunary beings, there is none that approaches so near to the Divine nature as man. Under this emblem also it is that God, considered as seeing all things, and directing all, would be represented. This resemblance of man was seated upon a throne, to show that God governs all things as Lord, and that without agitation and without labour.
"The shining metal, and the fire which surrounded him who sat on the throne, were the symbol of his glory and his judgments, which are poured upon the wicked as a fire which nothing can withstand; agreeably to Isaiah, Isaiah 33:14.
"The Jews acknowledged that there was a Providence which governs the whole universe with infinite wisdom. The psalmist gives us a description of it, equally just and pathetic, in Psalms 104:27, c. Christians, no less than Jews, admit this important truth and the Gospel establishes it no less strongly than the law. See Matthew 6:26; Matthew 10:29; Matthew 10:30. To raise the mind of the prophet up to the first Mover of those events which strike and admonish us in all the revolutions which happen to individuals, families, and states, God shows him four wheels above the firmament, over which the emblem of Providence was placed on a throne. These wheels are a symbol of those perpetual revolutions, which are observed in the earth; and which, by turns, lift up and abase individuals and nations. They are of a prodigious height, to show that man cannot fathom or know all that is great, wonderful, and astonishing, in the ways of Providence. See Job 11:7-8; Romans 11:33-34; Isaiah 55:8-9. These wheels move themselves every way, and are full of eyes in the vast circle of their felloes. This shows, that all which God does he effects without pain; and that the eye of his wisdom ordereth all events. The wheels did not move of themselves; but they followed the impulse of the four living creatures; 'when the living creatures went, they went.' This shows that, in the government of the world, all the living creatures are subject to Providence; and that God subordinates the creatures one to another. He directs what those holy intelligences ought to do, who serve him as ministers, and are here represented by the four animals. And these intelligences, enlightened and supported by the Supreme Wisdom, contribute, as far as is suitable, to all that happens to mankind. The angels whom Ezekiel saw were in number four, in reference to the four cardinal points of the world; to show that their ministry extends every where, and that there is no part of the universe which the Providence of God does not govern in an immediate manner, or by the means of his ministers. The extraordinary shape of these angels, which appeared to the prophet in vision, is symbolical; for it is not to be supposed that those heavenly ministers are really thus formed. The 'four faces, wings, and arms of a man,' denote the sublime qualities of these immediate ministers of the Deity; qualities entirely essential to fill up the extent of their duty. The face of a man denotes their intelligence; of a lion, their intrepid courage; of an ox, their patience and perseverance in labour; and of an eagle, their great penetration, their sublime sight into heavenly things, and their readiness to rise up into all that is great and Divine. The 'wings being stretched out,' signifies that they are always ready to set forward, and run with rapidity wherever the commands of their great Master call them. The 'wings bent down,' are a symbol of that profound respect in which these heavenly ministers stand before the Lord of the universe. Under the wings there were men's arms, to show that zeal produces application and labour. Labour, without zeal, can never be supported; and zeal, without application, is only a hypocritical ardour, which amounts to nothing with that supreme Master who requires sincere homage from those who serve him. If God chose to make known to Ezekiel that his providence extends to all things, and that even in this life it often takes up the rod to chastise nations and individuals, he would also show beforehand that he wished not the destruction of the Jewish people, whom he was about to visit in his anger, but only its correction and amendment. This is signified by the 'precious metal,' which the prophet found unmelted in the midst of the fiery cloud. This cloud of fire, urged on by a whirlwind, and involving on all sides the metal, represented the judgments of God which were about to fall upon this rebellious nation, not to destroy, but to humble and purify it. Nothing is more proper than afflictions to bring men back to their duty. As fire purifies metals, so the paternal chastisements of God have a tendency to purify the soul and heart, if the man be not entirely incorrigible. The people upon whom God was about to pour the vials of his anger, were not worthy of his lenity. But that great God, who is firm in his promises, remembers the covenant of peace he had made with the patriarchs. This covenant is made sensible to the prophet under the image of a rainbow, which was round about him who appeared upon the throne. Every one knows, that this splendid phenomenon, which seems to join heaven and earth together, was given to Noah and his posterity as a symbol of the covenant which God then made with mankind, and by which he declared to them that the earth should undergo a deluge no more. Thus, the Pagans considered the Iris as the messenger of the gods. See Virgil, AEn. lib. iv. ver. 694. But whereas the rainbow to the Jews was a symbol of peace, the Iris of the Pagans was a messenger of trouble. On the sight of this bow, the symbol of grace, Ezekiel was to be encouraged; and persuaded that his people were not threatened with an utter destruction. The event fully justified all that the prophet had contemplated, with surprise, in this enigmatical picture. The Chaldeans, the rod of the Lord's just severity, ravaged Judea; the people were carried away captive; they groaned for seventy years in a foreign land; but they were protected in a miraculous manner against the bloody designs of the cruel Haman; and at length, favoured with various decrees of the kings of Persia, they had permission, not only to return to their own country but also to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.' See Dr. Dodd's notes on this place.
