¹NOW it came to pass in the 30th year, in the 4th month, on the 5th day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ²On the 5th day of the month, in the 5th year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, ³The word of Yahvah came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Yahvah was on me there.

⁴And I looked, and saw a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud, and a flaming fire and a brightness was around it, and out of the middle of it came, as it were, a figure out of the middle of the fire. ⁵Out of the middle of it also came the likeness of 4 living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. ⁶And each one had 4 faces, and each 1 had 4 wings. ⁷And their legs were straight; and the soles of their feet were like the soles of a calf's feet; and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. ⁸And they had human hands under their wings on their 4 sides; and their faces and their wings were on their 4 sides. ⁹Their wings were joined to each other; and when they went, they went straight forward; they did not turn when they went. ¹⁰And as for the likeness of their faces, each of the 4 had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side; and each of the 4 had the face of an ox and the face of an eagle on the left side. ¹¹And their faces and their wings were stretched upward; 2 wings of each creature were joined to each other, and 2 covered their bodies. ¹²And they went each one straight forward; wherever the spirit was to go, they went; and they did not turn when they went. ¹³As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of a lamp going to and fro among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ¹⁴And the living creatures ran, but did not return, and their appearance was like a flash of lightning.

¹⁵Now as I saw the living creatures, look, wheels were on the earth by the side of each of the 4 living creatures. ¹⁶The appearance of the wheels and their work was like the color of a beryl; and the 4 had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was, as it were, a wheel inside a wheel. ¹⁷When they went, they went on 4 sides; and they did not turn when they went; and wherever the first one turned to go, the other went after it, and did not turn. ¹⁸As for their rims, they were high and they could see; for the rims were full of eyes around the 4. ¹⁹And when the living creatures went, the wheels went with them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the ground, the wheels were lifted up with them. ²⁰Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, and the wheels were lifted up with them; for there was a living spirit in the wheels. ²¹When the living creatures went, the wheels went; and when the creatures stood, they also stood; and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up with them; for there was a living spirit in the wheels. ²²And over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, resembling pure crystal, stretched out over their heads above. ²³And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other; over and under; 2 of them covering their faces and 2 covering their bodies. ²⁴And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of God, like the sound of speech in a host; and when they stopped, they let down their wings. ²⁵And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads; and when they stopped, they let down their wings.

²⁶And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a sapphire stone, as the likeness of a throne; and on the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above it. ²⁷And I saw as it were the appearance of God, and the appearance of fire inside it, around from his loins and upward; and from his loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire shining around it. ²⁸As the appearance of the rainbow when it is in the clouds in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness around him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of Yahvah. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and I heard the voice of one who spoke.