Ezekiel sees the glory of the King, the Lord
1I was among the people of Judah who were prisoners in Babylon. We were at the Kebar River in the land of Babylon. The heaven opened and God showed me a vision. It was in the 30th year, on the 5th day of the 4th month after we had become prisoners in Babylon. 2It was in the 5th year after the Babylonians had caught King Jehoiachin and taken him away to the land of Babylon. It was on the 5th day of the month 3when the Lord talked to me, the priest Ezekiel, son of Buzi. The Lord talked to me in the land of Babylon, at the Kebar River and He put his hand on me.
4I looked and I saw a storm wind coming from the north. There was a big cloud and a fire burning around the cloud and the fire was shining brightly. There was something in the fire that was shining like melted metal. 5Then 4 living_beings that looked like people came from the shining metal. 6Each one of them had 4 faces and 4 wings. 7Their legs were straight and their feet were like bronze that someone had made to shine very much. Their feet looked like the feet of a cow. 8Under their 4 wings were hands that looked like a man's hands. The 4 living_beings had faces and wings 9and their wings touched each other. They did not turn away when they moved. They went straight forward.
10Each living_being had 4 faces. In front it looked like a man's face, the face on the right looked like the face of a lion, the face on the left looked like the face of a bull and at the back it looked like the face of an eagle. 11That is how their faces looked. The top wings of each living_being were open and they touched the wings of the 2 living_beings left and right of him. They used the other 2 wings to cover their bodies. 12Each living_being moved straight forward where the Spirit wanted him to go. They did not turn when they moved. 13The 4 living_beings looked like they had coals of fire inside them. It also looked like torches that kept on moving among them. The fire shone brightly and lightning came from the fire. 14The living_beings moved quickly like lightning to the back and to the front.
15While I looked at them, I saw a wheel on the ground next to each of the 4 living_beings. 16It looked as if the wheels were made of jasper gemstones. The wheels were all the same and inside each wheel there was another wheel. 17The wheels could move to the left or to the right, but when they moved, they did not turn away. 18The rims of the wheels were big and I became afraid when I saw them because there were eyes all around the rims of the 4 wheels.
19When the living_beings moved, the wheels next to them also moved and when the living_beings went up in the air, the wheels also went up. 20They went where the Spirit of God wanted them to go and the wheels went into the air with them because the spirits of the living_beings were in the wheels. 21When the living_beings moved, the wheels also moved, and when the living_beings stood still, the wheels also stood still. When the living_beings went up in the air, the wheels also went up because the spirits of the living_beings were in the wheels.
22Above the living_beings was an expanse and it looked like ice. I became afraid when I saw it. The expanse was above their heads. 23The living_beings were under the expanse. The upper wings of each living_being were opened and each wing touched the wing of the living_being next to him. The living_beings used the other 2 wings to cover their bodies. 24The wings of the living_beings made a loud_noise, that sounded like a lot of water in a waterfall, like the sound when the Almighty Lord is speaking, like the sound when a lot of people come together and make a noise, like the noise that a lot of soldiers make. When the living_beings stopped, they lowered their wings.
25Then I heard someone talking above the expanse, above the heads of the living_beings. When the living_beings stopped, they lowered their wings. 26Above the expanse that was above the heads of the living_beings, there was something that looked like sapphire. It looked like a throne and high upon the throne there was something that looked like a man. 27I saw something that looked like his hips and above his hips, it looked like shining metal, like a fire, and around the fire was a rim. Under his hips was something that looked like fire and around the fire was a light. 28The light around the fire looked like the rainbow on a rainy day. It looked like the glory of the Lord.
When I saw this, I bowed down with my face to the ground. Then I heard the voice of Someone talking to me.
