Ezekiel’s Vision by the River Kebar
(Psalm 137:1–9)

1It came to passe in the thirtieth yere in the fourth moneth, and in the fift day of the moneth (as I was among the captiues by the riuer Chebar) that the heauens were opened and I sawe visions of GOD. 2In the fift day of the moneth (which was the fift yere of King Ioiachins captiuitie) 3The word of the Lorde came vnto Ezekiel the Priest, the sonne of Buzi, in the lande of the Caldeans, by the riuer Chebar, where the hande of the Lord was vpon him.

The Four Living Creatures

4And I looked, and beholde, a whirlewinde came out of the North, a great cloude and a fire wrapped about it, and a brightnesse was about it, and in the middes thereof, to wit, in the middes of the fire came out as the likenesse of amber. 5Also out of the middes therof came the likenesse of foure beastes, and this was their forme: they had the appearance of a man. 6And euery one had foure faces, and euery one had foure wings. 7And their feete were streight feete, and the sole of their feete was like the sole of a calues foote, and they sparkled like the appearance of bright brasse. 8And the handes of a man came out from vnder their wings in the foure parts of them, & they foure had their faces, and their wings. 9They where ioyned by their wings one to another, and when they went forth, they returned not, but euery one went streight forward. 10And the similitude of their faces was as the face of a man: and they foure had the face of a lyon on the right side, and they foure had the face of a bullocke on the left side: they foure also had the face of an egle. 11Thus were their faces: but their wings were spred out aboue: two wings of euery one were ioined one to another, & two couered their bodies. 12And euery one went streight forward: they went whither their spirit led them, and they returned not when they went forth. 13The similitude also of the beasts, and their appearance was like burning coles of fire, & like the appearance of lampes: for the fire ran among the beastes, and the fire gaue a glister, and out of the fire there went lightning. 14And the beastes ranne, and returned like vnto lightning.

The Four Wheels

15Nowe as I behelde the beastes, beholde, a wheele appeared vpon the earth by the beastes, hauing foure faces. 16The facion of the wheeles and their worke was like vnto a chrysolite: and they foure had one forme, and their facion, and their worke was as one wheele in another wheele. 17Whe they went, they went vpo their foure sides, and they returned not when they went. 18They had also rings, and height, and were fearefull to beholde, and their rings were full of eyes, round about them foure. 19And when the beastes went, the wheeles went with them: and when the beasts were lift vp from the earth, the wheeles were lift vp. 20Whither the spirit led them, they went, & thither did the spirite of the wheeles leade them, and the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirit of the beastes was in the wheeles. 21When the beastes went, they went, & when they stoode, they stoode, and when they were lifted vp from the earth, the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirite of the beastes was in the wheeles.

The Divine Glory

22And the similitude of the firmament vpon the heads of the beasts was wonderfull, like vnto chrystall, spred ouer their heads aboue. 23And vnder the firmament were their wings streight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which couered the, and euery one had two, which couered their bodies. 24And when they went foorth, I heard the noyse of their wings, like the noyse of great waters, and as the voyce of the Almightie, euen the voyce of speach, as the noyse of an host: and when they stood, they let downe their wings. 25And there was a voyce fro the firmament, that was ouer their heads, when they stoode, and had let downe their wings.

26And aboue the firmament that was ouer their heads, was the facion of a throne like vnto a saphir stone, and vpon the similitude of the throne was by appearance, as the similitude of a man aboue vpon it. 27And I sawe as the appearance of amber, and as the similitude of fire round about within it to looke to, euen from his loynes vpwarde: and to looke to, euen from his loynes downewarde, I sawe as a likenesse of fire, and brightnesse round about it. 28As the likenesse of the bowe, that is in the cloude in the day of raine, so was the appearance of the light round about. (1:29) This was the appearance of the similitude of the glorie of the Lord: and when I sawe it, I fell vpon my face, and I heard a voyce of one that spake.