1Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year , in the fourth month , in the fifth day of the month , as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar , that the heavens were opened , and I saw visions of God . 2In the fifth day of the month , which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity , 3The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest , the son of Buzi , in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar ; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him. 4And I looked , and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north , a great cloud , and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber , out of the midst of the fire . 5Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures . And this was their appearance ; they had the likeness of a man . 6And every one had four faces , and every one had four wings . 7And their feet were straight feet ; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot : and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass . 8And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides ; and they four had their faces and their wings . 9Their wings were joined one to another ; they turned not when they went ; they went every one straight forward . 10As for the likeness of their faces , they four had the face of a man , and the face of a lion , on the right side : and they four had the face of an ox on the left side ; they four also had the face of an eagle . 11Thus were their faces : and their wings were stretched upward ; two wings of every one were joined one to another , and two covered their bodies . 12And they went every one straight forward : whither the spirit was to go , they went ; and they turned not when they went . 13As for the likeness of the living creatures , their appearance was like burning coals of fire , and like the appearance of lamps : it went up and down among the living creatures ; and the fire was bright , and out of the fire went forth lightning . 14And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning .
The Firmament and the Throne
15Now as I beheld the living creatures , behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures , with his four faces . 16The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl : and they four had one likeness : and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel . 17When they went , they went upon their four sides : and they turned not when they went . 18As for their rings , they were so high that they were dreadful ; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four . 19And when the living creatures went , the wheels went by them : and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth , the wheels were lifted up . 20Whithersoever the spirit was to go , they went , thither was their spirit to go ; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels . 21When those went , these went ; and when those stood , these stood ; and when those were lifted up from the earth , the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels . 22And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal , stretched forth over their heads above . 23And under the firmament were their wings straight , the one toward the other : every one had two , which covered on this side , and every one had two , which covered on that side , their bodies . 24And when they went , I heard the noise of their wings , like the noise of great waters , as the voice of the Almighty , the voice of speech , as the noise of an host : when they stood , they let down their wings . 25And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads , when they stood , and had let down their wings . 26And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne , as the appearance of a sapphire stone : and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27And I saw as the colour of amber , as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward , and from the appearance of his loins even downward , I saw as it were the appearance of fire , and it had brightness round about . 28As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain , so was the appearance of the brightness round about . This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD . And when I saw it , I fell upon my face , and I heard a voice of one that spake .