Study Desk

Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the ^(C1)river Chebar among the exiles, the ^(C2)heavens were opened and I saw ^(F1)(C3)visions of God.

(On the fifth of the month ^(F1)in the ^(C1)fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile,

the ^(C1)word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the ^(C2)land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there ^(C3)the hand of the LORD came upon him.)

As I looked, behold, a ^(C1)high wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like ^(C2)gleaming ^(F1)metal in the midst of the fire.

And within it there were figures resembling ^(C1)four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human ^(C2)form.

Each of them had ^(C1)four faces and ^(C2)four wings.

Their legs were straight and ^(F1)their feet were like a calf's ^(F2)hoof, and they sparkled like ^(C1)polished bronze.

Under their wings on their ^(C1)four sides were human ^(C2)hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them,

their wings touched one another; their faces did ^(C1)not turn when they moved, each ^(C2)went straight forward.

As for the ^(C1)form of their faces, each had a human ^(C2)face; ^(F1)all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and ^(F1)all four had the face of an eagle.

Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and ^(C1)two covering their bodies.

And ^(C1)each went straight forward; ^(C2)wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went.

^(F1)In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of ^(C1)fire, ^(F2)like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was ^(F3)flashing from the fire.

And the living beings ^(C1)ran back and forth like bolts of ^(C2)lightning.