1-3. I am Ezekiel—a priest and the son of Buzi.Five years after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been led away as a prisoner to Babylonia, I was living near the River Chebar among those who had been taken there with him. Then on the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, the heavens suddenly opened. The Lord placed his hand upon me and showed me some visions.
4. I saw a storm blowing in from the north. Lightning flashed from a huge cloud and lit up the whole sky with a dazzling brightness. The fiery centre of the cloud was as shiny as polished metal,
5. and in that centre I saw what looked like four living creatures. They were somewhat like humans,
6. except that each one had four faces and four wings.
7. Their legs were straight, but their feet looked like the hoofs of calves and sparkled like bronze.
8. Under each of their wings, these creatures had a human hand.
19-21. The creatures controlled when and where the wheels moved—the wheels went wherever the four creatures went and stopped whenever they stopped. Even when the creatures flew in the air, the wheels were beside them.
22-23. Above the living creatures, I saw something that was sparkling like ice, and it reminded me of a dome. Each creature had two of its wings stretched out towards the creatures on either side, with the other two wings folded against its body.