Ezequiel 1

¹ Now it came to pass in theAfter that the book of the Law as found, which was the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, so that twenty-five years after this book was found, Jeconiah was led away captive with Ezekiel and many of the people, who the first year later saw these visions.thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river ofWhich was a part of Euphrates so called.Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions ofThat is, notable and excellent visions, so that it might be known, it was no natural dream but came from God.God.The Argument – After Jehoiachin by the counsel of Jeremiah and Ezekiel had yielded himself to Nebuchadnezzar, and so went into captivity with his mother and various of his princes and of the people, some began to repent and murmur that they had obeyed the prophet's counsel, as though the things which they had prophesied would not come to pass, and therefore their estate would still be miserable under the Chaldeans. By reason of which he confirms his former prophecies, declaring by new visions and revelations shown to him, that the city would most certainly be destroyed, and the people grievously tormented by God's plagues, in so much that they who remained would be brought into cruel bondage. Lest the godly despair in these great troubles, he assures them that God will deliver his church at his appointed time and also destroy their enemies, who either afflicted them, or rejoiced in their miseries. The effect of the one and the other would be chiefly performed under Christ, of whom in this book are many notable promises, and in whom the glory of the new temple would perfectly be restored. He prophesied these things in Chaldea, at the same time that Jeremiah prophesied in Judah, and there began in the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity.

² In the fift day of the moneth (which was the fift yere of King Ioiachins captiuitie)

³ The word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and theThat is, the spirit of prophecy, as in (Eze_3:22, Eze_37:1).hand of the LORD was there upon him.

⁴ And I looked, and, behold, aBy this diversity of words he signifies the fearful judgment of God and the great afflictions that would come on Jerusalem.whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness [was] about it, and from the midst of it as the colour of amber, from the midst of the fire.

⁵ Also from the midst of it [came] the likeness ofWhich were the four Cherubims that represented the glory of God, as in (Eze_11:22).four living beings. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

⁶ And euery one had foure faces, and euery one had foure wings.

⁷ And their feete were streight feete, and the sole of their feete was like the sole of a calues foote, and they sparkled like the appearance of bright brasse.

⁸ And the handes of a man came out from vnder their wings in the foure parts of them, & they foure had their faces, and their wings.

⁹ Their wings [were]The wing of the one touched the wing of the other.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 hadEvery cherubim had four faces, the face of a man, and of a lion on the right side, and the face of a bullock and of an eagle on the left side.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: but their wings were spred out aboue: two wings of euery one were ioined one to another, & two couered their bodies.

¹² And euery one went streight forward: they went whither their spirit led them, and they returned not when they went forth.

¹³ The similitude also of the beasts, and their appearance was like burning coles of fire, & like the appearance of lampes: for the fire ran among the beastes, and the fire gaue a glister, and out of the fire there went lightning.

¹⁴ And the living beings ran andThat is, when they had executed God's will: for before they returned not till God had changed the state of things.returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

¹⁵ Nowe as I behelde the beastes, beholde, a wheele appeared vpon the earth by the beastes, hauing foure faces.

¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their work [was] like the colour of aThe Hebrew word is tarshish meaning that the colour was like the Cilician Sea, or a precious stone so called.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 Whe they went, they went vpo their foure sides, and they returned not when they went.

¹⁸ They had also rings, and height, and were fearefull to beholde, and their rings were full of eyes, round about them foure.

¹⁹ And when the beastes went, the wheeles went with them: and when the beasts were lift vp from the earth, the wheeles were lift vp.

²⁰ Whither the spirit led them, they went, & thither did the spirite of the wheeles leade them, and the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirit of the beastes was in the wheeles.

²¹ When the beastes went, they went, & when they stoode, they stoode, and when they were lifted vp from the earth, the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirite of the beastes was in the wheeles.

²² And the similitude of the firmament vpon the heads of the beasts was wonderfull, like vnto chrystall, spred ouer their heads aboue.

²³ And vnder the firmament were their wings streight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which couered the, and euery one had two, which couered their bodies.

²⁴ And when they went, I heard the noise of theirWhich declared the swiftness and the fearfulness of God's judgments.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, theyWhich signified that they had no power of themselves, but only waited to execute God's commandment.let down their wings.

²⁵ And there was a voyce fro the firmament, that was ouer their heads, when they stoode, and had let downe their wings.

²⁶ And aboue the firmament that was ouer their heads, was the facion of a throne like vnto a saphir stone, and vpon the similitude of the throne was by appearance, as the similitude of a man aboue vpon it.

²⁷ And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fireBy which was signified a terrible judgment toward the earth.around 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 on all sides.

²⁸ As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness around. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fellConsidering the majesty of God, and the weakness of flesh.upon my face, and I heard a voice of one speaking.