The Glory of the Lord Leaves the Temple

10 Then I looked, and behold, (A)on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something (B)like a sapphire,[a] in appearance like a throne. And he said to (C)the man clothed in linen, “Go in among (D)the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with (E)burning coals from between the cherubim, and (F)scatter them over the city.”

And he went in (G)before my eyes. Now the cherubim were standing (H)on the south side of the house, when the man went in, and (I)a cloud filled (J)the inner court. And (K)the glory of the Lord (L)went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house (M)was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with (N)the brightness of the glory of the Lord. And (O)the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, (P)like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

And when he commanded (Q)the man clothed in linen, (R)“Take fire from between (S)the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. And a cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. The cherubim appeared to have (T)the form of a human hand under their wings.

(U)And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and (V)the appearance of the wheels was (W)like sparkling (X)beryl. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 (Y)When they went, they went in any of their four directions[b] (Z)without turning as they went, (AA)but in whatever direction the front wheel[c] faced, the others followed without turning as they went. 12 (AB)And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings,[d] and the wheels were full of eyes all around—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing (AC)“the whirling wheels.” 14 (AD)And every one had four faces: (AE)the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was (AF)a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 (AG)And the cherubim mounted up. These were (AH)the living creatures that I saw by (AI)the Chebar canal. 16 (AJ)And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them. And (AK)when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 (AL)When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creatures[e] was in them.

18 (AM)Then (AN)the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 (AO)And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth (AP)before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the (AQ)east gate of the house of the Lord, and (AR)the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 (AS)These were the living creatures that I saw (AT)underneath the God of Israel by (AU)the Chebar canal; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 (AV)Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings (AW)the likeness of human hands. 22 (AX)And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the Chebar canal. (AY)Each one of them went straight forward.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 10:1 Or lapis lazuli
  2. Ezekiel 10:11 Hebrew to their four sides
  3. Ezekiel 10:11 Hebrew the head
  4. Ezekiel 10:12 Or their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings
  5. Ezekiel 10:17 Or spirit of life

God’s Glory Departs From the Temple

10 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne(A) of lapis lazuli(B) above the vault(C) that was over the heads of the cherubim.(D) The Lord said to the man clothed in linen,(E) “Go in among the wheels(F) beneath the cherubim. Fill(G) your hands with burning coals(H) from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.

Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the Lord(I) rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice(J) of God Almighty[a] when he speaks.(K)

When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels,(L) from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire(M) that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)(N)

I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz.(O) 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about[b] as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes,(P) as were their four wheels.(Q) 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14 Each of the cherubim(R) had four faces:(S) One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion,(T) and the fourth the face of an eagle.(U)

15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures(V) I had seen by the Kebar River.(W) 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.(X)

18 Then the glory(Y) of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.(Z) 19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them.(AA) They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory(AB) of the God of Israel was above them.

20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River,(AC) and I realized that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces(AD) and four wings,(AE) and under their wings was what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River.(AF) Each one went straight ahead.

Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 10:5 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  2. Ezekiel 10:11 Or aside