1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was in the midst of the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens opened, and I saw visions {mar’ot: vivid supernatural appearances} of God {Elohim, Divine Revelator}.
2 On the fifth day of the month, which is the fifth year {shana: measured period} of the exile {galut: forced removal} of King Jehoiachin.
3 The word of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Spokesman} came to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans {kasdim: Babylonian people} by the river Kebar, and there the hand of the LORD was upon him.
4 And I saw and behold a storm {se'arah: violent gale} coming from the north, a great cloud and fire flashing continually, and brightness was around it; and from within it came the appearance of chashmal {chashmal: gleaming substance} from the midst of the fire.
5 And from its midst appeared a likeness {demut: symbolic representation} of four living creatures; and this was their appearance {mareihen: outward form}. They had the likeness of a man.
6 And each one {le'echat: distributive allotment} had four faces, and each one of them {lahem: distributive suffix} had four wings.
7 And their feet were straight {yesharah: direct alignment}, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of a calf’s foot, and they sparkled like burnished bronze {nechoshet: gleaming metal}.
8 And the hands of a man {adam: human being} were under their wings {kanfeihem: protective coverings} on each of their four sides, and the four had their faces and their wings.
9 Their wings were joined one to another {ishah el achotah: sisterly bond}; they did not turn as they went; each one went straight forward {el ever panav: forward orientation}.
10 And the likeness of their faces: the face of a man {adam: human being}, the face of a lion {aryeh: lion} on the right for the four of them, the face of an ox on the left for the four of them, and the face of an eagle for the four of them.
11 And their faces and their wings were separated {perudot: spread apart} from above. Each had two wings joining to each other, and two covering their bodies {geviyot: physical forms}.
12 And each went straight toward the side before him; wherever the spirit {ruakh: animating force} was to go, they went; they did not turn aside as they went {belekhtan: in their movement}.
13 And the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches {lappidim: flaming torches}. The fire moved to and fro among the living creatures, and the fire had brightness {nogah: radiant glow}; and from the fire, lightning went out.
14 And the living creatures {hayyot: beings full of life} ran and returned like the appearance of lightning {bazak: sudden brilliance}.
15 And I saw the living creatures {hayyot: cherub-like beings}, and behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each of the four {arbaat: group of four} living creatures.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like beryl {tarshish: pale gemstone}, and they all had one likeness {dmut: identical pattern}, and their appearance and their workmanship was as if a wheel were within a wheel.
17 Upon their four quarters {riveihen: divisions}, they proceeded {yeleku: advanced constantly}; they did not turn in their going.
18 And their rims {gabotam: ringed structures} were tall to them, and awe {yirah: profound dread} was upon them; and their rims were full of eyes all around for their four.
19 And when the living creatures moved, the wheels {ofanim: circular forms} went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose {yinase'u: ascended}.
20 Wherever the spirit {ruach: animating force} was to go, they would go—wherever the spirit was to go—and the wheels would lift up beside them, for the spirit of the living creature {chayah: living being} was in the wheels.
21 As they went, they would go, and as they stood, they would stand; and as they were lifted up from above the earth, the wheels {ofan: mechanism} would be lifted up alongside them, for the spirit {ruach: animating force} of the living creature was in the wheels.
22 And over the heads of the living creature was a likeness of an expanse, like the appearance of awe-inspiring crystal {hakerach: clear ice}, stretched out above their heads {milma'alah: from above}.
23 And under the expanse {raqia: firm vault} their wings were straight, one toward its sister; each had two wings covering on one side and two wings covering on the other side, their bodies {geviyot: bodily forms}.
24 And I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty {Shaddai, Omnipotent One}, when they moved; the sound of tumult, like the sound of an army {machaneh: encamped host}. When they stood still, they let down their wings.
25 And there was a voice from above the expanse {raqia: sky vault} over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings {kanfeihen: symbolic reverence}.
26 And above the expanse {raqia': extended firmament} that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, like the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne {kisse: royal seat} was a likeness like the appearance of a man above it.
27 And I saw what looked like glowing metal {chashmal: radiant substance}, and like fire within its enclosure. From the appearance of his loins upward and from the appearance of his loins downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and brightness {nogah: shining radiance} was all around him.
28 Like the appearance of the bow {qeshet: rainbow} seen in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD {YHWH, Majestic Presence}. When I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.