Ezekiel’s Vision of the Divine Chariot

¹In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. ²On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—³the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, by the Chebar Canal, in the land of the Chaldeans. And the hand of the Lord came upon him there.

⁴I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north—a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber. ⁵In the center of it were also the figures of four creatures. And this was their appearance:

They had the figures of human beings. ⁶However, each had four faces, and each of them had four wings; ⁷the legs of each were [fused into] a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf’s hoof;^a and their sparkle^b was like the luster of burnished bronze. ⁸They had human hands below their wings. The four of them had their faces and their wings on their four sides. ⁹Each one’s wings touched those of the other. They did not turn when they moved; each could move in the direction of any of its faces.

¹⁰Each of them had a human face [at the front]; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right; each of the four had the face of an ox on the left; and each of the four had the face of an eagle [at the back]. ¹¹Such were their faces. As for their wings, they were separated: above, each had two touching those of the others, while the other two covered its body. ¹²And each could move in the direction of any of its faces; they went wherever the spirit impelled them to go, without turning when they moved.

¹³Such then was the appearance of the creatures. With them was something that looked like burning coals of fire. This fire, suggestive of torches, kept moving about among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and lightning issued from the fire. ¹⁴Dashing to and fro [among] the creatures was something that looked like flares.

¹⁵As I gazed on the creatures, I saw one wheel on the ground next to each of the four-faced creatures. ¹⁶As for the appearance and structure of the wheels, they gleamed like beryl. All four had the same form; the appearance and structure of each was as of two wheels cutting through each other. ¹⁷And when they moved, each could move in the direction of any of its four quarters; they did not veer when they moved. ¹⁸Their rims were tall and frightening, for the rims of all four were covered all over with eyes. ¹⁹And when the creatures moved forward, the wheels moved at their sides; and when the creatures were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne too. ²⁰Wherever the spirit impelled them to go, they went—wherever the spirit impelled them—and the wheels were borne alongside them; for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels. ²¹When those moved, these moved; and when those stood still, these stood still; and when those were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne alongside them—for the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.

²²Above the heads of the creatures was a form: an expanse, with an awe-inspiring gleam as of crystal, was spread out above their heads. ²³Under the expanse, each had one pair of wings extended toward those of the others; and each had another pair covering its body. ²⁴When they moved, I could hear the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of Shaddai,^c a tumult like the din of an army. When they stood still, they would let their wings droop. ²⁵From above the expanse over their heads came a sound. When they stood still, they would let their wings droop.

²⁶Above the expanse over their heads was the semblance of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and on top, upon this semblance of a throne, there was the semblance of a human form. ²⁷From what appeared as his loins up, I saw a gleam as of amber—what looked like a fire encased in a frame; and from what appeared as his loins down, I saw what looked like fire. There was a radiance all about him. ²⁸Like the appearance of the bow which shines in the clouds on a day of rain, such was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. That was the appearance of the semblance of the Presence of the Lord. When I beheld it, I flung myself down on my face. And I heard the voice of someone speaking.