Ezekiel 1:4

4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,

Ezekiel 1:4 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
English Standard Version (ESV)
4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.
New Living Translation (NLT)
4 As I looked, I saw a great storm coming from the north, driving before it a huge cloud that flashed with lightning and shone with brilliant light. There was fire inside the cloud, and in the middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber.
The Message Bible (MSG)
4 I looked: I saw an immense dust storm come from the north, an immense cloud with lightning flashing from it, a huge ball of fire glowing like bronze.
American Standard Version (ASV)
4 And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself, and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
4 As I looked, I saw a storm coming from the north. There was an immense cloud with flashing lightning surrounded by a bright light. The middle of the lightning looked like glowing metal.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
4 I looked and there was a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire, there was a gleam like amber.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
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.

Ezekiel 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 1:4

And I looked
Being under the influence of the Spirit and power of God: and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north;
which some understand of Nebuchadnezzar and his army coming from Babylon, which lay north of Judea: see ( Jeremiah 1:14 ) ; but it seems to me to be, with what follows, only an apparatus to the following vision: and is designed to awaken the mind of the prophet, and to fix his attention to what should proceed from hence, and be seen by him; just as the Lord speared in and answered Job out of, the whirlwind, ( Job 38:1 ) ; a great cloud;
as is usual when there is much thunder and lightning; though some understand this also of Nebuchadnezzar's army, which came in great human, swiftly and powerfully, as a cloud: and a fire infolding itself:
in the cloud; rolling within it, when it burst out in thunder and lightning. The Targum renders it, "fire inflamed", the same phrase is used of the storm of thunder, lightning, and hail, in ( Exodus 9:24 ) . Some understand this of the wrath of the Babylonian monarch; or of the wrath of God by him; or of the sins of men, the cause thereof: and a brightness [was] about it;
that is, the cloud. This brightness was an emblem of the glory of the divine Being; who was now present, an enlightened the mind of the prophet to see the following things, and which all proceeded from him: and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber out of the midst of
the fire;
that is, out of the midst of the fire, and out of the midst of the brightness about it, there was something which was as "the colour of amber"; or, "like the chasmal" F6; which, the Jews F7 say, is the name of an angel. It is asked F8, what is "chasmal?" R. Judah says, (twhmm va twyx) , "fiery animals speaking": who, when God speaks, are silent; and when he does not speak, they speak; but Christ is meant; for the appearance of the man upon the throne is said to be as the colour of "chasmal", ( Ezekiel 1:27 ) . The word, read the contrary way, is the Messiah, or the anointed, or to be anointed. Jarchi thinks it is the name of a colour, nearest to the colour of fire, Junius and Tremellius render it, "a most lively colour"; and perhaps may mean the colour of a burning coal; and Buxtorf translates it, "a coal exceedingly fired"; a clear, burning, red-hot coal; which may denote the pure light of Christ, who is the brightness of his Father's glory; his flaming love for his people; his burning zeal for the glory of God, and the good of his church; and his fiery indignation against his enemies. We render the word amber, as do others; by which must be meant, not that which is the juice of certain trees, which is hardened by the air, and is of a yellowish colour; nor that liquid substance which comes from sea shores and rocks, and, being hardened in the same way, is of the colour of wax; but a sort of mixed metal, compounded of gold and silver; the fifth part of it is silver, as Pliny F9 says, and four parts gold; though Bochart is of opinion that the "qurichalcum", a metal made of gold and brass, is meant; which is the most fine brass; to which the feet of Christ are compared in ( Revelation 1:15 ) ; and so this "chasmal" may denote the two natures in Christ; the preciousness of his person; his brightness and glory; and his great strength and power. R. Abendana F11 conjectures, that the colour of "chasmal" means the colour of some precious stone, as the colour of "tarshish", or "beryl", ( Ezekiel 1:16 ) ; and so he that sat upon the throne, in ( Revelation 4:3 ) ; was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (lmvxh Nyek) "tanquam species hasmal, [vel] chasmal", Calvin, Tigerius version, Starckius; "angeli", Munster; "flammae crepitantis", Montanus; "prunarum ardentissimarum", Polanus; "purissimi aeris", Piscator; (hlektrou) , Sept. "electri", V. L. Pagninus.
F7 Baal Aruch, Philip. Aquinas. Vid. Jarchi & Kimchi ib loc.
F8 T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 13. 1. 2.
F9 Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 4.
F11 Not. in Miclol Yophi in loc.

Ezekiel 1:4 In-Context

2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—
3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was on him.
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,
5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human,
6 but each of them had four faces and four wings.

Cross References 3

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