The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
1 When I was thirty years of age, I was living with the exiles on the Kebar River. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the sky opened up and I saw visions of God.
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In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 (It was the fifth day of the month in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin
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On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin),
3 that God's Word came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, on the banks of the Kebar River in the country of Babylon. God's hand came upon him that day.)
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the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.
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.
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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.
5 Within the fire were what looked like four creatures vibrant with life. Each had the form of a human being,
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And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness,
6 but each also had four faces and four wings.
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but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.
7 Their legs were as sturdy and straight as columns, but their feet were hoofed like those of a calf and sparkled from the fire like burnished bronze.
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Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze.
8 On all four sides under their wings they had human hands. All four had both faces and wings,
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Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus:
9 with the wings touching one another. They turned neither one way nor the other; they went straight forward.
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their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went.
10 Their faces looked like this: In front a human face, on the right side the face of a lion, on the left the face of an ox, and in back the face of an eagle.
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As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.
11 So much for the faces. The wings were spread out with the tips of one pair touching the creature on either side; the other pair of wings covered its body.
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Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.
12 Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit went, they went. They didn't turn as they went.
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And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went.
13 The four creatures looked like a blazing fire, or like fiery torches. Tongues of fire shot back and forth between the creatures, and out of the fire, bolts of lightning.
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As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
14 The creatures flashed back and forth like strikes of lightning.
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And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 As I watched the four creatures, I saw something that looked like a wheel on the ground beside each of the four-faced creatures.
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Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.
16 This is what the wheels looked like: They were identical wheels, sparkling like diamonds in the sun. It looked like they were wheels within wheels, like a gyroscope.
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As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel.
17 They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not veering off.
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When they went, they went in any of their four directionswithout turning as they went.
18 The rims were immense, circled with eyes.
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And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off.
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And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.
20 Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking right with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
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Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
21 When the creatures went, the wheels went; when the creatures stopped, the wheels stopped; when the creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
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When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Over the heads of the living creatures was something like a dome, shimmering like a sky full of cut glass, vaulted over their heads.
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Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads.
23 Under the dome one set of wings was extended toward the others, with another set of wings covering their bodies.
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And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body.
24 When they moved I heard their wings - it was like the roar of a great waterfall, like the voice of The Strong God, like the noise of a battlefield. When they stopped, they folded their wings.
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And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings.
25 And then, as they stood with folded wings, there was a voice from above the dome over their heads.
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And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.
26 Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne, sky-blue like a sapphire, with a humanlike figure towering above the throne.
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And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.
27 From what I could see, from the waist up he looked like burnished bronze and from the waist down like a blazing fire. Brightness everywhere!
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And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him.
28 The way a rainbow springs out of the sky on a rainy day - that's what it was like. It turned out to be the Glory of God! When I saw all this, I fell to my knees, my face to the ground. Then I heard a voice.
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Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.