1 NOW 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.
2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
3 The 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.
4 And 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.
5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
7 And 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.
8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
10 As 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.
11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
13 As 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.
14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
16 The 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.
17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.
18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
19 And 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.
20 Whithersoever 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.
21 When 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.
22 And 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.
23 And 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.
24 And 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.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
26 And 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.
27 And 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.
28 As 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.

1 Now 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.

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.

I == Ezek 1:3 ; 3:15 , 23 ; 8:3 ; 10:15 , 20 , 22 ; 43:3 ; Matt 3:16 ; Acts 7:56 ; 10:11 ; Rev 19:11

II == 2nd Kings 24:12 , 15

III == 1st Kings 3:15 l Ezek 3:14 , 22 ; 8:1 ; 40:1

IV == Jer 1:14 ; 4:6 ; 6:1 ; 23:19 ; 25:32

V == Ezek 1:10 ; 10:14 , 18 , 21 ; Rev 4:6

VII == Dan 10:6 ; Rev 1:15

VIII == Ezek 10:8 , 21

IX == Ezek 1:11-12 ; 10:11

X == Num 2:3 , 10 , 18 , 25 ; Rev 4:7

XI == Isa 6:2

XII == Ezek 1:9 , 17 , 20 ; 10:22

XIII == Rev 4:5

XIV == Zech 4:10 ; Matt 24:27

XV == Ezek 10:9

XVI == Ezek 10:9-10 ; Dan 10:6

XVII == Ezek 1:12

XVIII == Ezek 10:12 ; Zech 4:10

XIX == Ezek 10:16-17

XX == Ezek 1:12 ; 10:17

XXI == Ezek 1:19-20 ; 10:17

XXII == Ezek 10:1

XXIV == Job 37:4-5 ; Ps 29:3-4 ; 68:33 ; Ezek 10:5 ; 43:2 ; Dan 10:6 ; Rev 1:15

XXVI == Ex 24:10 ; Ezek 10:1

XXVII == Ezek 8:2

XXVIII == Ezek 3:23 ; 8:4 ; Dan 8:17 ; 10:11 ; Acts 9:4 ; Rev 1:17 ; 4:3 ; 10:1

 1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens opened, and I saw divine visions. - 

2 On the fifth day of the month, the fifth year, that is, of King Jehoiachin's exile,

3 the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar. - There the hand of the LORD came upon me.

4 As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire (enveloped in brightness), from the midst of which (the midst of the fire) something gleamed like electrum.

5 Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human,

6 but each had four faces and four wings,

7 and their legs went straight down; the soles of their feet were round. They sparkled with a gleam like burnished bronze.

10 Their faces were like this: each of the four had the face of a man, but on the right side was the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox, and finally each had the face of an eagle.

9 Their faces (and their wings) looked out on all their four sides; they did not turn when they moved, but each went straight forward.

12 (Each went straight forward; wherever the spirit wished to go, there they went; they did not turn when they moved.)

8 Human hands were under their wings, and the wings of one touched those of another.

11 Each had two wings spread out above so that they touched one another's, while the other two wings of each covered his body.

13 In among the living creatures something like burning coals of fire could be seen; they seemed like torches, moving to and fro among the living creatures. The fire gleamed, and from it came forth flashes of lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground, one beside each of the four living creatures.

16 The wheels had the sparkling appearance of chrysolite, and all four of them looked the same: they were constructed as though one wheel were within another.

17 They could move in any of the four directions they faced, without veering as they moved.

18 The four of them had rims, and I saw that their rims were full of eyes all around.

19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved with them; and when the living creatures were raised from the ground, the wheels also were raised.

20 Wherever the spirit wished to go, there the wheels went, and they were raised together with the living creatures; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Over the heads of the living creatures, something like a firmament could be seen, seeming like glittering crystal, stretched straight out above their heads.

23 Beneath the firmament their wings were stretched out, one toward the other. (Each of them had two covering his body.)

24 Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty. When they moved, the sound of the tumult was like the din of an army. (And when they stood still, they lowered their wings.)

26 Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man.

27 Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded with splendor.

28 Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I had seen it, I fell upon my face and heard a voice that said to me:/

Jeremiah back tracked making things hard to follow, but Ezekiel lays things out in a chronological and consistent way. It is autobiographical, but he focuses on the glory and character of God. Jeremiah ministered in Judah, but Ezekiel ministered to the captives in Babylon. He tried to convince them that captivity would not be short lived. v “They shall know that I am the Lord” is used nearly 100 times in the book.

v 1-3. Ezekiel was deported with King Jehoiachin in March of 597 BC. Some say he was 25 years old then and is now commissioned as a priest at age 30, the earliest age at which he could become a priest, Num. 4. His writings reflect knowledge he had as a priest, but he was only acting at the direction of the Lord. (Served till 571 BC)

v 4. In the midst of a tornado cloud was a shining, glowing brightness. 

v 5-14. . These creatures are cherubim encompassing the glory of God. This time they had man like features with differences. Each had 4 faces and 4 wings, their legs were straight (a standing position), their feet were like calf feet and shone like brass, their hands were like human’s, and they acted as a unit with two wings touching the others, and two covering their bodies in reverence. A face was on each of the 4 sides so that they could go any direction without turning. The four faces, v 10, speak of Christ and of the four Gospels. See chart, chapter 10. Appearance of fire shooting amongst them was a figure of the judgment God was about to pronounce through Ezekiel.

v 15-18. The wheel intersecting the other wheel at right angles is like a gyroscope, except that by this they could go any direction without turning. This might by described as the “Throne Chariot” of God. In 2 Ki 2:12 Elisha saw the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. Ps 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. The wheels were of awesome height and the rims were full of eyes all around, as the all seeing God. See notes on these in Chapter 10.

v 19-21. The Spirit of God was in the midst directing them where they willingly go.

v 22--25. Above them is the same word for firmament as found in Gen. 1:8. It was not empty space but filled with awesome dazzling appearance like crystals of ice, or perhaps like that before the throne in Rev. 4:6. The wings, though joined to the others, made a thunderous noise in movement , bu t were let down when they stopped. When they stopped, the voice of God was heard from the expanse, or firmament above them.

v 26- 28. The blue sapphire throne above them was obviously the throne of God, and at quick glance, the One seated appeared like the form of a man. Ezekiel could describe the cherubim in detail, but the brilliance was so great that he could only say the One on the throne appeared like the color amber and the brightness of fire. The halo about Him was like a brilliant rainbow, such as John described in Rev. 4:3. Lest anyone should doubt, Ezekiel states clearly that he had not seen God directly, but a theophany of God in vision form. This appearance was like the glory of the Lord . He speaks of the glory of the Lord sixteen times in this book. Ezekiel was so humbled he prostrated himself on his face (3:23), and again heard the voice of the Lord, v 25.
The cherubim here are similar but somewhat different than the cherubim of Rev. 4 and the seraphim of Isa. 6:2.