| New Living Translation | Berean Study 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 by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. |
| 2This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. | 2On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— |
| 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 directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was 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. | 4I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber, |
| 5From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, | 5and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a 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, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming 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. | 8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings, |
| 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. | 9and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one 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. | 10The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, 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. | 11Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. |
| 12They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around. | 12Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they moved. |
| 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 creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. |
| 14And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning. | 14The creatures were darting back and forth 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. | 15When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. |
| 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 workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel. |
| 17The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. | 17As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting 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 all four rims 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. | 19So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. |
| 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 alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures 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. | 21When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. |
| 22Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal. | 22Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal. |
| 23Beneath this surface the wings of each living being stretched out to touch the others’ wings, and each had two wings covering its body. | 23And under the expanse, their wings stretched out toward one another. Each one 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 the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like 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. | 25And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood still with their wings lowered. |
| 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 expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that 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. | 27From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded 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. | 28The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. |
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