Ezekiel

Theophany

On the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, while I was with the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened, and I had visions from the Lord.

On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile),

the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the banks of the Chebar. There, the Lord’s hand was upon me.

I looked: a windstorm was coming from the north, bringing a large cloud. A fiery light inside it illuminated everything around, while at the center, there was something like glowing metal.

In the center were what seemed to be four creatures of the same shape;

but each had four faces and four wings.

Their legs were straight, and their feet resembled those of a calf, gleaming like polished bronze.

Under their wings (on all four sides), they had human hands. The wings of one

touched those of the other. Their faces did not turn as they advanced because they could move in any of the four directions their faces were pointing.

I saw they had human faces, but each one also had the face of a lion on the right, and on the left the face of an ox, and all four had the face of an eagle.

Their wings were spread upward. Each had two wings meeting those of its neighbor and two covering its body; with four faces, they could move in any of the four directions.

Wherever the spirit went, they followed without hesitation as they moved forward.

Between these creatures, glowing coals like torches could be seen moving among them. The fire blazed and flashed like thunderbolts.

The creatures darted back and forth like lightning bolts.

While I was observing the creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each of them,

shimmering as if made of chrysolite. The four wheels had identical shapes: in fact, each was double—two wheels arranged crosswise,

so they could move in any of the four directions without turning.

Their rims were tall and looked intimidating, and all four of them were covered with eyes on all sides.

When the creatures advanced, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures lifted off the ground, the wheels lifted too.

Wherever the spirit was to go, there the creatures went; and the wheels went with them, for the spirit of the creatures was also in the wheels.

When the creatures moved forward, they did, too, stopping when they stopped, rising above the ground when they did, because the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.

Over the creatures’ heads was a platform that looked like crystal.

Under the platform, their wings were straight, one parallel to the other. (Each creature had two wings that covered its body).

I heard the sound of their wings as they moved, like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Most High, the noise of a multitude or a camp. When they stayed still, they lowered their wings.

I heard a noise above the platform overhead.

Above it was a throne resembling a sapphire, and high on this throne was a figure similar to that of a man. Then I saw a light like glowing bronze, as if fire enveloped him

from his waist upward. And from his waist down, it was as if fire radiated around him.

The surrounding light resembled a rainbow in the clouds after a rainy day. This vision reflected the Lord’s glory. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and then I heard a voice speaking.