Ezekiel 10

I looked, and there above the expanse over the heads of the cherubim appeared something like sapphire stone, with the appearance of the likeness of a throne. He spoke to the man dressed in linen, saying, “Go in among the wheelwork beneath the cherub. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went in as I watched. The cherubim were standing on the right side of the house when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. The glory of the LORD rose from above the cherub to the threshold of the house. The house was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the LORD’s glory. The sound of the cherubim’s wings could be heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks. When he commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from among the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside the wheel. The cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim toward the fire that was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and went out. The form of a human hand could be seen under the cherubim’s wings. I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub and another wheel beside another cherub. The wheels had the appearance of the gleam of beryl. All four had the same likeness, as though a wheel were within a wheel. When they moved, they could go in any of their four directions without turning as they went. They followed wherever the head faced, without turning as they went. Their entire bodies, their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels—the wheels belonging to all four—were full of eyes all around. I heard the wheels called “Wheelwork.” Each had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. The cherubim rose. This was the living creature I had seen by the Chebar River. When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them. When the cherubim lifted their wings to rise from the earth, the wheels did not turn away from their side. When they stood still, the wheels stood still; when they rose, the wheels rose with them, for the spirit of the living creature was in them. The glory of the LORD departed from above the threshold of the house and stood above the cherubim. The cherubim lifted their wings and rose from the earth as I watched them go out, with the wheels beside them. They stood at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. This was the living creature I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Chebar River, and I knew that they were cherubim. Each had four faces, and each had four wings, with the likeness of human hands under their wings. The likeness of their faces was the same as the faces I had seen by the Chebar River—their appearance and their very selves. Each went straight ahead.

Rights and attribution