2. On the fifth day of the month — it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile —
3. the word of the Lord came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar Canal. And the Lord’s hand was on him there.
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.
5. The form of four living creatures came from it. And this was their appearance: They had human form,
6. but each of them had four faces and four wings.
7. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, sparkling like the gleam of polished bronze.
8. They had human hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
9. Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.
10. The form of each of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle.
11. That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body.
12. Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, they went without turning as they moved.
13. The form of the living creatures was like the appearance of burning coals of fire and torches. Fire was moving back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, with lightning coming out of it.
14. The creatures were darting back and forth like flashes of lightning.
15. When I looked at the living creatures, there was one wheel on the ground beside each creature that had four faces.
16. The appearance of the wheels and their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same form. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel.
17. When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved.