Ezekiel 1:3-5

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

³the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chalde′ans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

⁴As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness round about it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming bronze. ⁵And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures.^[a] And this was their appearance: they had the form of men,

Read full chapter

Footnotes

1.5 four living creatures: The description recalls the Assyrian karibu: statues of animals with human heads guarding the palace at Nineveh. Here these creatures are pressed into the service of Yahweh. They are met again in Rev 4.6-8. The point of the vision is that Yahweh is not tied to Jerusalem and could follow his people into exile.

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.