Ezekiel 1:4
2 On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—
3 the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
I looked and saw 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 was a gleam like amber,
5 and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a human form,
6 but each had four faces and four wings.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- I looked and saw 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 was a gleam like amber,
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud, with flashing lightning, and a brightness around it, and out of the middle of it as it were glowing metal, out of the middle of the fire.
- ASV
- 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.
- DARBY
- And I looked, and behold, a stormy wind 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 look of glowing brass, out of the midst of the fire.
- BLB
- And I looked, and behold, a wind of a tempest was coming from the north, and a great cloud and fire taking hold [of it], and a brightness to it all around, and in the midst of it [was] like the color of amber, from the midst of the fire.
- ÅB
- Og jeg så, og se, en stormvind kom fra nord, en stor sky med stadig flammende ild; en strålende glans omgav den, og midt i den, midt i ilden, viste det seg noe som så ut som blankt metall.
- OTB
- Mens jeg så, kom en stormfull vind fra nord, en stor sky med lyn som blinket og et sterkt lys rundt den. I midten av ilden var det noe som lignet glødende metall.
- B1930
- Og jeg så, og se, en stormvind kom fra nord, en stor sky med stadig luende ild; en strålende glans omgav den, og midt i den, midt i ilden, viste det sig noget som så ut som blankt metall.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Ezekiel 1:27
From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him.
Read in contextEzekiel 8:2
Then I looked and saw a figure like that of a man. From His waist down His appearance was like fire, and from His waist up He was as bright as the gleam of amber.
Read in contextJeremiah 23:19
Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
Read in contextJeremiah 1:13–14
Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.”
Read in contextIsaiah 21:1
This is the burden against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the Negev, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror.
Read in contextExodus 19:16–18
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Read in contextJeremiah 25:32
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.”
Read in contextEzekiel 10:8–9
(The cherubim appeared to have the form of human hands under their wings.)
Read in context