New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Ezekiel 1
1
I was 30 years old. I was with my people who had been taken away from their country. We were by the Kebar River in the land of Babylonia. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the heavens were opened. I saw visions of God.
Reference
📍 Chebar
Parallel theme
Revelation 19:11
Acts 10:11
Luke 3:21
Ezekiel 10:15
Revelation 4:1
References God
Acts 7:56
Matthew 3:16
Ezekiel 11:24
Ezekiel 10:20
John 1:51
2
It was the fifth day of the month. Jehoiachin had been king of Judah. It was the fifth year since he had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner.
Reference
3
A message came to me from the Lord. I was by the Kebar River in Babylonia. The Lord put his strong hand on me there. I am Ezekiel, the son of Buzi. I'm a priest.
Reference
📍 Chebar
People
4
I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. I saw a huge cloud. The fire of lightning was flashing out of it. Bright light surrounded it. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal.
Reference
5
I saw in the fire something that looked like four living creatures. They appeared to have the shape of a man.
6
But each of them had four faces and four wings.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 10:14
7
Their legs were straight. Their feet looked like the feet of a calf. They were as bright as polished bronze.
Reference
8
The creatures had a man's hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 10:21
9
Their wings touched one another. Each of the creatures went straight ahead. They didn't change their direction as they moved.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 10:22
10
Here's what their faces looked like. Each of the four creatures had a man's face. On the right side each had the face of a lion. On the left each had the face of an ox. Each one also had an eagle's face.
Reference
11
That's what their faces looked like. Two of their wings were spread out and lifted up. Each one touched the wing of another creature on either side. The other two wings covered their bodies.
Reference
12
All of the creatures went straight ahead. Anywhere their spirits would lead them to go, they would go. They didn't change their direction as they went.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 1:9
13
The living creatures looked like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures. It was bright. Lightning flashed out of it.
Reference
Light
Revelation 4:5
Revelation 18:1
Matthew 28:3
Parallel theme
Psalm 104:4
Revelation 10:1
Genesis 15:17
Ezekiel 1:7
14
The creatures raced back and forth like flashes of lightning.
Reference
Light
Matthew 24:27
Luke 17:24
Parallel theme
Zechariah 4:10
Psalm 147:15
Mark 13:27
Matthew 24:31
Daniel 9:21
15
As I looked at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground beside them. Each creature had four faces.
Reference
16
Here's how the wheels looked and worked. They gleamed like chrysolite. All four of them looked alike. Each one seemed to be made like a wheel inside another wheel at right angles.
Reference
Parallel theme
Daniel 10:6
17
The wheels could go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced. The wheels didn't change their direction as the creatures moved.
Reference
18
Their rims were high and terrifying. All four rims were full of eyes all the way around them.
Reference
19
When the creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved. When the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.
Reference
Parallel theme
Ezekiel 10:16
20
Anywhere their spirits would lead them to go, they would go. And the wheels would rise along with them. That's because the spirits of the living creatures were in the wheels.
Reference
21
When the creatures moved, the wheels also moved. When the creatures stood still, they also stood still. When the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them. That's because the spirits of the living creatures were in the wheels.
Reference
22
Something that looked like a huge space was spread out above the heads of the living creatures. It gleamed like ice. It was terrifying.
Reference
23
The wings of the creatures were spread out under the space. They reached out toward one another. Each creature had two wings covering its body.
24
When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings. It was like the roar of rushing waters. It sounded like the thundering voice of the Mighty One. It was like the loud noise an army makes. When the creatures stood still, they lowered their wings.
Reference
25
Then a voice came from above the huge space over their heads. They stood with their wings lowered.
26
Above the space over their heads was something that looked like a throne made out of sapphire. On the throne high above was a figure that appeared to be human.
Reference
27
From his waist up he looked like glowing metal that was full of fire. From his waist down he looked like fire. Bright light surrounded him.
Reference
28
The glow around him looked like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. That's what the glory of the Lord looked like. When I saw it, I fell with my face toward the ground. Then I heard the voice of someone speaking.
Reference
Glory
Ezekiel 3:23
Exodus 24:16
Ezekiel 8:4
Parallel theme
Revelation 10:1
Revelation 4:3
Genesis 17:3
Acts 9:4
Daniel 8:17
Chapter Summary
Ezekiel 1 records one of the Bible's most extraordinary visions of God's glory, beginning with Ezekiel among the Jewish exiles in Babylon when the heavens suddenly open and he sees a supernatural vision involving a storm, fire, four living creatures, mysterious wheels covered with eyes, a brilliant crystal-like expanse, and finally a throne above which appears a radiant figure representing the glory of the Lord.
The historical setting is extremely important because Ezekiel is not standing in Jerusalem when he receives this vision. He is living among the exiles in Babylon, several years after King Jehoiachin and many Judeans were taken from Jerusalem. This immediately communicates one of the chapter's most important theological ideas: God's presence is not confined to Jerusalem or the Temple. Even though the people have been removed from their homeland, God is still able to reveal Himself, speak to His prophet, and demonstrate His authority in a foreign land.
The vision begins with a violent and brilliant storm from the north, filled with clouds, lightning, fire, and glowing material, creating an atmosphere of overwhelming power. Within this storm Ezekiel sees four living creatures whose appearance combines human and animal characteristics, with four faces, four wings, human-like hands, bronze-like legs and feet, and extraordinary coordinated movement.
The creatures are not presented as random monsters but as highly organized heavenly servants. Their wings touch one another, they move together, and they travel in whatever direction the Spirit directs without turning. Their movements communicate order, purpose, obedience, and supernatural control, while the fire and lightning surrounding them reinforce the impression that Ezekiel is witnessing something far beyond ordinary earthly experience.
Beside the creatures are four extraordinary wheels, and the wheels move together with the living creatures wherever the Spirit directs them. Their ability to travel in every direction without turning, combined with their unusual construction and eyes covering their rims, emphasizes mobility, awareness, and divine control.
The wheels are particularly important because they show that God's presence can move.
For Ezekiel and the exiles, this would have been deeply significant. The people had experienced the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and they could easily have wondered whether God's presence had been defeated or whether Babylon's gods had somehow proven stronger. Ezekiel's vision answers that fear by presenting God as completely mobile and sovereign, traveling above and beyond earthly borders rather than being trapped inside one building or one city.
Above the living creatures and wheels is a vast crystal-like expanse, brilliant and terrifying, and above that Ezekiel sees something resembling a sapphire throne. The throne becomes the central focus of the entire vision because everything beneath it—the storm, fire, creatures, wheels, and expanse—ultimately directs attention upward toward the One who sits above them.
The figure on the throne has a human-like appearance but is surrounded by extraordinary brightness, fire, and radiant colors, making it clear that Ezekiel is not describing an ordinary human king. Instead, he carefully speaks of the appearance or likeness of the glory of the Lord, using cautious language because the reality he is seeing is beyond ordinary human description.
The final image is especially striking: a rainbow-like radiance surrounds the throne, producing an appearance similar to sunlight shining through a cloud after rain. The vision therefore combines terrifying power with beautiful radiance, showing God's glory as both overwhelming and majestic.
When Ezekiel sees this, he falls facedown.
This is an important response because the vision is not given merely to satisfy curiosity or provide Ezekiel with something interesting to describe. He is encountering the living God, and the appropriate response is humility, reverence, and submission before the divine presence.
The central message is that Ezekiel 1 introduces the prophet's ministry through a breathtaking vision of God's glory among the Jewish exiles in Babylon, showing through the storm, fire, living creatures, wheels, crystal-like expanse, sapphire throne, radiant figure, and rainbow-like brilliance that God's power is infinitely greater than the political kingdoms surrounding His people and that His presence is not restricted to Jerusalem, the Temple, or the land of Judah, because even in exile God remains sovereign, mobile, attentive, and completely in control of His heavenly servants, while the extraordinary coordination of the creatures and wheels demonstrates that everything moves according to His Spirit and the throne above them establishes His authority over all earthly rulers, making the vision both a revelation of divine majesty and a message of hope to people who might have believed that the destruction of Jerusalem meant the end of God's presence among them, because although Judah has been defeated and Ezekiel himself is far from the Temple, the glory of the Lord has not been defeated or imprisoned, and the chapter ends with Ezekiel falling facedown before the radiant presence of God as he prepares to receive the prophetic message that will shape the rest of his ministry.
The historical setting is extremely important because Ezekiel is not standing in Jerusalem when he receives this vision. He is living among the exiles in Babylon, several years after King Jehoiachin and many Judeans were taken from Jerusalem. This immediately communicates one of the chapter's most important theological ideas: God's presence is not confined to Jerusalem or the Temple. Even though the people have been removed from their homeland, God is still able to reveal Himself, speak to His prophet, and demonstrate His authority in a foreign land.
The vision begins with a violent and brilliant storm from the north, filled with clouds, lightning, fire, and glowing material, creating an atmosphere of overwhelming power. Within this storm Ezekiel sees four living creatures whose appearance combines human and animal characteristics, with four faces, four wings, human-like hands, bronze-like legs and feet, and extraordinary coordinated movement.
The creatures are not presented as random monsters but as highly organized heavenly servants. Their wings touch one another, they move together, and they travel in whatever direction the Spirit directs without turning. Their movements communicate order, purpose, obedience, and supernatural control, while the fire and lightning surrounding them reinforce the impression that Ezekiel is witnessing something far beyond ordinary earthly experience.
Beside the creatures are four extraordinary wheels, and the wheels move together with the living creatures wherever the Spirit directs them. Their ability to travel in every direction without turning, combined with their unusual construction and eyes covering their rims, emphasizes mobility, awareness, and divine control.
The wheels are particularly important because they show that God's presence can move.
For Ezekiel and the exiles, this would have been deeply significant. The people had experienced the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and they could easily have wondered whether God's presence had been defeated or whether Babylon's gods had somehow proven stronger. Ezekiel's vision answers that fear by presenting God as completely mobile and sovereign, traveling above and beyond earthly borders rather than being trapped inside one building or one city.
Above the living creatures and wheels is a vast crystal-like expanse, brilliant and terrifying, and above that Ezekiel sees something resembling a sapphire throne. The throne becomes the central focus of the entire vision because everything beneath it—the storm, fire, creatures, wheels, and expanse—ultimately directs attention upward toward the One who sits above them.
The figure on the throne has a human-like appearance but is surrounded by extraordinary brightness, fire, and radiant colors, making it clear that Ezekiel is not describing an ordinary human king. Instead, he carefully speaks of the appearance or likeness of the glory of the Lord, using cautious language because the reality he is seeing is beyond ordinary human description.
The final image is especially striking: a rainbow-like radiance surrounds the throne, producing an appearance similar to sunlight shining through a cloud after rain. The vision therefore combines terrifying power with beautiful radiance, showing God's glory as both overwhelming and majestic.
When Ezekiel sees this, he falls facedown.
This is an important response because the vision is not given merely to satisfy curiosity or provide Ezekiel with something interesting to describe. He is encountering the living God, and the appropriate response is humility, reverence, and submission before the divine presence.
The central message is that Ezekiel 1 introduces the prophet's ministry through a breathtaking vision of God's glory among the Jewish exiles in Babylon, showing through the storm, fire, living creatures, wheels, crystal-like expanse, sapphire throne, radiant figure, and rainbow-like brilliance that God's power is infinitely greater than the political kingdoms surrounding His people and that His presence is not restricted to Jerusalem, the Temple, or the land of Judah, because even in exile God remains sovereign, mobile, attentive, and completely in control of His heavenly servants, while the extraordinary coordination of the creatures and wheels demonstrates that everything moves according to His Spirit and the throne above them establishes His authority over all earthly rulers, making the vision both a revelation of divine majesty and a message of hope to people who might have believed that the destruction of Jerusalem meant the end of God's presence among them, because although Judah has been defeated and Ezekiel himself is far from the Temple, the glory of the Lord has not been defeated or imprisoned, and the chapter ends with Ezekiel falling facedown before the radiant presence of God as he prepares to receive the prophetic message that will shape the rest of his ministry.