Ezekiel 1
The full text of Ezekiel 1 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth of the month, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile—
3 the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Kebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
4 I looked, and there—a storm wind coming from the north, a massive cloud with fire flashing back and forth, and a radiance surrounding it. From its center, from the center of the fire, something like the gleam of amber.
5 From its center came the likeness of four living beings. This was their appearance: they had a human form,
6 but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.
7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the gleam of burnished bronze.
8 They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
9 Their wings touched one another. They did not turn as they moved; each went straight ahead.
10 As for the likeness of their faces: each of the four had the face of a human in front, the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.
11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching those of another, and two covering their bodies.
12 Each went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they moved.
13 As for the likeness of the living beings, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. Fire moved back and forth among the living beings; the fire had a brightness, and from the fire came lightning.
14 The living beings darted back and forth like the appearance of lightning.
15 As I looked at the living beings, there was one wheel on the ground beside each living being, for each of its four faces.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction was like the gleam of beryl. All four had the same likeness, and their appearance and construction were like a wheel within a wheel.
17 When they moved, they could go in any of the four directions without turning as they moved.
18 As for their rims, they were high and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the living beings rose from the ground, the wheels rose too.
20 Wherever the spirit would go, they went—wherever the spirit would go—and the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
21 When those moved, these moved; when those stood still, these stood still; when those rose from the ground, the wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
22 Over the heads of the living beings there was the likeness of an expanse, like the gleam of awesome crystal, spread out over their heads above.
23 Under the expanse, their wings were stretched straight toward one another. Each had two wings covering its body on one side, and two covering it on the other.
24 I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty—when they moved, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 A voice came from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
26 Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire stone. On the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a human, above it.
27 I saw something like the gleam of amber, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around, from the appearance of his waist upward. And from the appearance of his waist downward, I saw something like the appearance of fire, with radiance all around him.
28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. That was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice speaking.
Translation notes (29)
- Ezekiel 1:1a This can also be translated as 'divine visions.' The Hebrew words are mar'ot elohim.
- Ezekiel 1:3a The Hebrew words hayoh hayah use a grammatical construction called an emphatic infinitive absolute, which emphasizes the action, meaning 'it certainly came.'
- Ezekiel 1:3b This can also be translated as 'the power of the LORD seized him.'
- Ezekiel 1:4a The Hebrew word hashmal has an uncertain meaning; it might refer to electrum, amber, or a glowing alloy. The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, translates it as elektron.
- Ezekiel 1:5a The Hebrew word hayyot means 'living ones' or 'living beings,' rather than 'creatures,' which might imply only animals.
- Ezekiel 1:7a The Hebrew words regel yesharah mean 'a straight leg,' used here as a singular collective noun, referring to multiple items as a single unit.
- Ezekiel 1:7b The Hebrew words nehoshet qalal refer to polished or burnished bronze.
- Ezekiel 1:8a Some Hebrew manuscripts read 'his hands' (singular), but the standard Hebrew text has the plural.
- Ezekiel 1:10a The Hebrew text adds 'for the four of them,' emphasizing that all four had an identical arrangement.
- Ezekiel 1:12a The Hebrew word ruah can mean either 'spirit' or 'wind'; it is the same word. This ambiguity is likely intentional.
- Ezekiel 1:13a The Hebrew word mithallekheth means 'walking' or 'going about,' and is used here to describe fire moving.
- Ezekiel 1:14a The Hebrew word bazaq means "lightning flash" or "thunderbolt."
- Ezekiel 1:15a The Hebrew phrase ophan ehad ba'arets means "one wheel on the earth/ground."
- Ezekiel 1:16a The Hebrew word tarshish likely refers to chrysolite or beryl, which is a yellow-green precious stone.
- Ezekiel 1:16b The Hebrew phrase "wheel in the middle of a wheel" suggests something gyroscopic or intersecting.
- Ezekiel 1:18a The Hebrew phrase yir'ah lahem means "fear/awe to them," or it could possibly mean "they had height."
- Ezekiel 1:18b This can also be translated as "their rims had height and they were fearsome."
- Ezekiel 1:20a The Hebrew phrase ruah hahayyah means "spirit of the living being/creature"; the singular word hayyah is used here to refer to a group.
- Ezekiel 1:22a The Hebrew word raqia' is the same word used in Genesis 1:6, referring to a hammered-out surface or firmament.
- Ezekiel 1:22b The Hebrew phrase qerah hannora' means "fearsome/awesome ice/crystal."
- Ezekiel 1:24a The Hebrew word Shaddai is traditionally translated as "the Almighty," though its origin is uncertain.
- Ezekiel 1:24b The Hebrew word mahaneh means "camp," specifically referring to a military encampment.
- Ezekiel 1:25a Some manuscripts of the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, add content here, but the standard Hebrew text is brief.
- Ezekiel 1:26a The Hebrew phrase demut kisse' means "likeness of a throne"; the repeated use of demut, meaning "likeness," suggests it is not a direct identification.
- Ezekiel 1:26b The Hebrew phrase even-sappir refers to lapis lazuli rather than what is known as modern sapphire.
- Ezekiel 1:27a The Hebrew word hashmal appears again here (compare verse 4), referring to a glowing substance.
- Ezekiel 1:27b The Hebrew word motnav means "his waist/loins," indicating that the figure has human anatomy.
- Ezekiel 1:28a The Hebrew phrase mar'eh demut kevod-YHWH uses four layers of indirect language: "appearance," "likeness," "glory," and "LORD."
- Ezekiel 1:28b The reference to the rainbow here recalls the covenant imagery found in Genesis 9.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Hebrew and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including Ezekiel, are free to read on this site.
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