(KJV) Ezekiel 112

<< Lamentations 5 Ezekiel 2 >>

⥃Ezekiel’s Vision by the River Kebar [ Psalms 137:1–9 ]

[1] Now it came to pass in the thirtieth3 year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I4 [was] among the captives5 by the river6 of Chebar7, [that] the heavens8 were opened, and I saw9 visions of God. [2] In the fifth [day] of the month, which [was] the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,10 [3] The word11 of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel12 the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the13 hand of the Lord was there upon him.

⥃The Four Living Creatures

[4] And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind14 came out of the north, a great15 cloud, and a fire infolding itself16, and a brightness [was] about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour17 of amber, out of the midst of the fire. [5] Also out of the midst thereof [came] the likeness18 of four living creatures. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. [6] And every one had four faces19, and every one had four wings20. [7] And their feet [were] straight feet21; and the sole of their feet [was] like the sole22 of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour23 of burnished brass. [8] And [they had] the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.24 [9] Their wings [were] joined25 one to another; they turned26 not when they went; they went every one straight forward. [10] As for the27 likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man28, and the face of a lion29, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox30 on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle31. [11] Thus [were] their faces: and their32 wings [were] stretched upward33; two [wings] of every one [were] joined one to another, and two34 covered their bodies. [12] And they went every35 one straight forward: whither36 the spirit was to go, they went; [and] they turned not when they went. [13] As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance [was] like burning coals of fire, [and] like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.37 [14] And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.38

⥃The Four Wheels

[15] Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one39 wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with40 his four faces. [16] The appearance of the wheels and their work [was] like unto the colour41 of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work [was] as it were a wheel42 in the middle of a wheel. [17] When they went, they went upon their four sides: [and43] they turned not when they went. [18] As for their rings, they were so44 high that they were dreadful; and their rings45 [were] full46 of eyes round about them four. [19] And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.47 [20] Whithersoever the spirit48 was to go, they went, thither [was their] spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the49 spirit of the living creature50 [was] in the wheels. [21] When those went51, [these] went; and when those stood, [these] stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature52 [was] in the wheels.

⥃The Divine Glory

[22] And the likeness53 of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature [was] as the colour of the terrible crystal54, stretched forth over their heads above. [23] And under the firmament [were] their wings55 straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which56 covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. [24] And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like57 the noise of great waters, as the voice58 of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise59 of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. [25] And there was a voice from the firmament that [was] over their heads, when they stood, [and] had60 let down their wings.

[26] And above61 the firmament that [was] over62 their heads [was] the likeness of a63 throne, as the64 appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne [was] the likeness as the appearance of a man65 above upon it. [27] And I saw as the colour66 of amber, as the appearance of fire67 round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. [28] As the appearance of the bow68 that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This69 [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw [it], I fell70 upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

<< Lamentations 5 Ezekiel 2 >>

  1. The character of Ezekiel, as a Writer and Poet, is thus admirably drawn by the masterly hand of Bishop Lowth: “Ezekiel is much inferior to Jeremiah in elegance; in sublimity he is not even excelled by Isaiah; but his sublimity is of a totally different kind. He is deep, vehement, tragical; his sentiments are elevated, animated, full of fire and indignation; his imagery is crowded, magnificent, terrific; his language is grand, solemn, austere, rough, and at times unpolished; he abounds in repetitions, not for the sake of grace or elegance, but from vehemence and indignation. Whatever subject he treats of, that he sedulously puruses; from that he rarely departs, but cleaves, as it were, to it; whence the connexion is in general evident and well preserved. In other respects he may perhaps be exceeded by the other prophets; but, for that species of composition to which he seems adapted by natural gifts, the forcible, impetuous, grave, and grand, not one of the sacred writers is superior to him. His diction is sufficiently perspicuous; all his obscurity arises from the nature of his subjects. Visions (as for instance, among others, those of Hosea, Amos, and Zechariah), are necessarily dark and confused. The greater part of Ezekiel, particularly towards the middle of the book, is poetical, whether we regard the matter of the language.” Abp. Newcombe judiciously observes, The Prophet is not to be considered merely as a poet, or as a framer of those august and astonishing visions, and of those admirable poetical representations, which he committed to writing; but as an instrument in the hands of God, who vouchsafed to reveal himself, through a long succession of ages, not only in divers parts constituting a magnificant and uniform whole, but also in different manners, as by voice, by dreams, by inspiration, and by plain or enigmatical vision. “Ezekiel is a great poet, full of originality; and, in my opinion, whoever censures him as if he were only an imitator of the old prophets, can never have felt his power. He must not, in general, be compared with Isaiah, and the rest of the old prophets. Those are great, Ezekiel is also great; those in their manner of poetry, Ezekiel in his.” To justify this character the learned prelate descends to particulars, and gives apposite examples, not only of the clear, flowing, and nervous, but also of the sublime; and concludes his observations on his style, by stating it to be his deliberate opinion, that if his “style is the old age of Hebrew language and composition (as has been alleged), it is a firm and vigorous one, and should induce us to trace its youth and manhood with the most assiduous attention.” As a Prophet, Ezekiel must ever be allowed to occupy a very high rank; and few of the prophets have left a more valuable treasure to the church of God than he has. It is true, he is in several places obscure; but this resulted either from the nature of his subjects, or the events predicted being still unfulfilled; and, when time has rolled away the mist of futurity, successive generations will then perceive with what heavenly wisdom this much neglected prophet has spoken. There is, however, a great proportion of his work which is free from every obscurity, and highly edifying. He has so accurately and minutely foretold the fate and condition of various nations and cities, that nothing can be more interesting than to trace the exact accomplishment of these prophecies in the accounts furnished by historians and travellers; while, under the elegant type of a new temple to be erected, a new worship to be introduced, and a new Jerusalem to be built, with new land to be allotted to the twelve tribes, may be discovered the vast extent and glory of the New Testament Church. ↩

  2. Ezek 1:1, The time of Ezekiel’s prophecy at Chebar; Ezek 1:4, His vision of four cherubims; Ezek 1:15, of the four wheels; Ezek 1:26, and of the glory of God. ↩

  3. Num 4:3; Luke 3:23 ↩

  4. Eccl 9:1-2; Jer 24:5-7 ↩

  5. Heb. captivity ↩

  6. Ezek 1:3, Ezek 3:15, Ezek 3:23, Ezek 10:15, Ezek 10:20, Ezek 10:22, Ezek 43:3 ↩

  7. Chebar, called now Khabour, is a river of Mesopotamia, which taking its rise in the Mysian mountains, falls into the Euphrates near Carchemish, or Circesioum, now Karkisia, about 35 degrees 20 minutes n lat. and 40 degrees 25 minutes e long. ↩

  8. Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21; John 1:51; Acts 7:56, Acts 10:11; Rev 4:1, Rev 19:11 ↩

  9. Ezek 8:3, Ezek 11:24; Gen 15:1, Gen 46:2; Num 12:6; Isa 1:1; Dan 8:1-2; Hos 12:10; Joel 2:28; Matt 17:9; Acts 9:10-12, Acts 10:3; 2Cor 12:1 ↩

  10. Ezek 8:1, Ezek 20:1, Ezek 29:1, Ezek 29:17, Ezek 31:1, Ezek 40:1; 2Kgs 24:12-15 ↩

  11. Jer 1:2, Jer 1:4; Hos 1:1; Joel 1:1; 1Tim 4:1 ↩

  12. Heb. Jehezkel ↩

  13. Ezek 3:14, Ezek 3:22, Ezek 8:1, Ezek 33:22, Ezek 37:1, Ezek 40:1; 1Kgs 18:46; 2Kgs 3:15 ↩

  14. Isa 21:1; Jer 1:13-14, Jer 4:6, Jer 6:1, Jer 23:19, Jer 25:9, Jer 25:32; Hab 1:8-9 ↩

  15. Ezek 10:2-4; Exod 19:16-18, Exod 24:16-17; Deut 4:11-12; 2Chr 5:13-14, 2Chr 6:1, 2Chr 7:1-3; Ps 18:11-13, Ps 50:3, Ps 97:2-3, Ps 104:3-4; Isa 19:1; Nah 1:3-6; Hab 3:3-5; Heb 12:29 ↩

  16. Heb. catching itself ↩

  17. Ezek 1:27, Ezek 8:2, Ezek 10:8-9; Rev 1:15 ↩

  18. Rev 4:6, Rev 6:6 *Gr. ↩

  19. These living creatures were probably hieroglyphical representations of the holy angels, the attendants on "the King of Glory," and the ministers of his providence. They were four, apparently to denote that they were employed in the four corners of the world; and they had the likeness of a man, to signify that they were intelligent and rational creatures. Ezek 1:10, Ezek 1:15, Ezek 10:10, Ezek 10:14, Ezek 10:21-22; Rev 4:7-8 ↩

  20. Ezek 1:8-11; Exod 25:20; 1Kgs 6:24-27; Isa 6:2 ↩

  21. Heb. a straight foot ↩

  22. Lev 11:3, Lev 11:47 ↩

  23. Ezek 1:13; Ps 104:4; Dan 10:6; Rev 1:15 ↩

  24. Ezek 8:3, Ezek 10:2, Ezek 10:7-8, Ezek 10:18, Ezek 10:21; Isa 6:6 ↩

  25. Ezek 1:11; 2Chr 3:11-12; 1Cor 1:10 ↩

  26. Ezek 1:12, Ezek 10:11, Ezek 10:22; Prov 4:25-27; Luke 9:51, Luke 9:62 ↩

  27. Ezek 10:14; Rev 4:7 ↩

  28. Num 2:10; Isa 46:8; Luke 15:10; 1Cor 14:20 ↩

  29. Num 2:3; Judg 14:18; 1Chr 12:8; Rev 5:5 ↩

  30. Ezek 10:14, Cherub, Num 2:18; Prov 14:4; 1Cor 9:9-10 ↩

  31. Num 2:25; Deut 28:49; Job 39:27; Isa 40:31; Dan 7:4 ↩

  32. Ezek 10:16, Ezek 10:19 ↩

  33. or, divided above ↩

  34. Ezek 1:23; Isa 6:2 ↩

  35. Ezek 1:9, Ezek 1:17, Ezek 10:22 ↩

  36. Ezek 1:20-21; Heb 1:14 ↩

  37. Ezek 1:7; Gen 15:17; Ps 104:4; Dan 10:5-6; Matt 28:3; Rev 4:5, Rev 10:1, Rev 18:1 ↩

  38. Ps 147:15; Dan 9:21; Zech 2:3-4, Zech 4:10; Matt 24:27, Matt 24:31; Mark 13:27 ↩

  39. Ezek 1:19-21, Ezek 10:9, Ezek 10:13-17; Dan 7:9 ↩

  40. Ezek 1:6; Rev 4:7 ↩

  41. Ezek 10:9; Exod 39:13; Dan 10:6 ↩

  42. Ezek 10:10; Job 9:10; Ps 36:6, Ps 40:5; Rom 11:33; Eph 3:10 ↩

  43. Ezek 1:9, Ezek 1:12, 10:1-11:25; Isa 55:11 ↩

  44. Job 37:22-24; Ps 77:16-19, Ps 97:2-5; Isa 55:9 ↩

  45. or, stakes ↩

  46. Ezek 10:12; Prov 15:3; Zech 4:10; Rev 4:6, Rev 4:8 ↩

  47. Ezek 10:16; Ps 103:20 ↩

  48. Ezek 1:12; 1Cor 14:32 ↩

  49. Ezek 10:17; Zech 6:1-8 ↩

  50. or, of life ↩

  51. Ezek 1:19-20, Ezek 10:17 ↩

  52. or, of life, Rom 8:2 ↩

  53. Ezek 1:26, Ezek 10:1; Exod 24:10; Job 37:22; Rev 4:3, Rev 4:6, Rev 21:11 ↩

  54. The Hebrew kerach which generally denotes ice, doubtless here signifies crystal (κρυσταλλος, from κρυος, cold, ice, and στελλομαι, to concrete), as it is rendered by the LXX and Vulgate. It is a very large class of silicious minerals, hard, pellucid, naturally colourless, of regularly angular figures, and of simple plates; not flexible, nor elastic, but giving fire with steel; not fermenting by acid menstrua, but calcinable in a strong fire. There are three orders of pure crystal. The first is perfect columnar crystals, with double pyramids, of eighteen planes, in an hexangular pyramid at each end; the second is that of perfect crystals, without a column, of twelve or sixteen planes, in two hexangular pyramids; and the third is that of imperfect crystals, with single pyramids, of ten or twelve planes, in an hexangular or pentangular column. Terrible crystal seems to denote that which was well cut and polished, vividly refracting the rays of light. ↩

  55. Ezek 1:12, Ezek 1:24 ↩

  56. Ezek 1:11; Job 4:18; Ps 89:7; Luke 17:10 ↩

  57. Ezek 43:2; Rev 1:15, Rev 19:6 ↩

  58. Ezek 10:5; Job 37:2, Job 37:4-5; Ps 18:13, Ps 29:3-9, Ps 68:33 ↩

  59. Dan 10:6; 2Kgs 7:6 ↩

  60. Ezek 1:24 ↩

  61. Abp. Newcome judiciously observes, "We need not allegorize the circumstances of this august vision too minutely. Many of them augment the splendour of the scene, while others, no doubt, have much significance; which should be pointed out rather by a correct judgment, than a luxuriant imagination." Ezek 1:22, Ezek 10:1 ↩

  62. Matt 28:18; Eph 1:21-22; Phil 2:9-10; 1Pet 3:22 ↩

  63. Ps 45:6; Isa 6:1; Dan 7:9-10, Dan 7:14; Zech 6:13; Matt 25:13; Heb 1:8, Heb 8:1; Heb 12:2; Rev 4:2-3, Rev 5:13, Rev 20:11 ↩

  64. Exod 24:10; Isa 54:11 ↩

  65. Gen 32:24-30; Josh 5:13-15, Josh 6:1-2; Isa 9:6-7; Jer 23:5-6; Dan 10:18; Rev 1:13, Rev 3:21, Rev 14:14 ↩

  66. Ezek 1:4, Ezek 8:2 ↩

  67. Deut 4:24; Ps 50:3, Ps 97:2; 2Thess 1:8; Heb 12:29; Rev 1:14-16 ↩

  68. Gen 9:13-16; Isa 54:8-10; Rev 4:3, Rev 10:1 ↩

  69. Ezek 8:4, Ezek 10:19-20, Ezek 43:3; Exod 16:7, Exod 16:10, Exod 24:16, Exod 33:18-23; Num 12:6-8; 1Kgs 8:10-11; 1Cor 13:12 ↩

  70. Ezek 3:23; Gen 17:3; Lev 9:24; Dan 8:17, Dan 10:7-9, Dan 10:16-17; Matt 17:5-6; Acts 9:4; Rev 1:17-18 ↩