Ezekiel 10 (NET)

God’s Glory Leaves the Temple

1 As I watched, I saw1 on the platform2 above the top of the cherubim something like a sapphire, resembling the shape of a throne, appearing above them. 2 The Lord3 said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork4 underneath the cherubim.5 Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.

3 (The cherubim were standing on the south side6 of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.) 4 Then the glory of the Lord arose from the cherub and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud while the court was filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard from the outer court, like the sound of the sovereign God7 when he speaks.

6 When the Lord8 commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from within the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man9 went in and stood by one of the wheels.10 7 Then one of the cherubim11 stretched out his hand12 toward the fire which was among the cherubim. He took some and put it into the hands of the man dressed in linen, who took it and left. 8 (The cherubim appeared to have the form13 of human hands under their wings.)

9 As I watched, I noticed14 four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub;15 the wheels gleamed like jasper.16 10 As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel.17 11 When they18 moved, they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved; in the direction the head would turn they would follow19 without turning as they moved, 12 along with their entire bodies,20 their backs, their hands, and their wings. The wheels of the four of them were full of eyes all around. 13 As for their wheels, they were called “the wheelwork”21 as I listened. 14 Each of the cherubim22 had four faces: The first was the face of a cherub,23 the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.

15 The cherubim rose up; these were the living beings24 I saw at the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; when the cherubim spread25 their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not move from their side. 17 When the cherubim26 stood still, the wheels27 stood still, and when they rose up, the wheels28 rose up with them, for the spirit29 of the living beings30 was in the wheels.31

18 Then the glory of the Lord moved away from the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 The cherubim spread32 their wings, and they rose up from the earth33 while I watched (when they went the wheels went alongside them). They stopped at the entrance to the east gate of the Lord’s temple as the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

20 These were the living creatures34 which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings. 22 As for the form of their faces, they were the faces whose appearance I had seen at the Kebar River. Each one moved straight ahead.

110:1tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb. 210:1tn Or “like a dome.” See 1:22-26. 310:2tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 410:2tn The Hebrew term often refers to chariot wheels (Isa 28:28; Ezek 23:24; 26:10). 510:2tc The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum mss read plural “cherubim” while the MT is singular here, “cherub.” The plural ending was probably omitted in copying the MT due to the similar beginning of the next word. 610:3tn Heb “right side.” 710:5tn The name (“El Shaddai”) has often been translated “God Almighty,” primarily because Jerome translated it omnipotens (“all powerful”) in the Latin Vulgate. There has been much debate over the meaning of the name. For discussion see W. F. Albright, “The Names Shaddai and Abram,” JBL 54 (1935): 173-210; R. Gordis, “The Biblical Root sdy-sd,” JTS 41 (1940): 34-43; and especially T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 69-72. 810:6tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 910:6tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man dressed in linen) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 1010:6tn Heb “the wheel.” 1110:7tn Heb “the cherub.” 1210:7tn The Hebrew text adds, “from among the cherubim.” 1310:8tn The Hebrew term is normally used as an architectural term in describing the plan or pattern of the tabernacle or temple or a representation of it (see Exod 25:8; 1 Chr 28:11). 1410:9tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally “behold”) indicates becoming aware of something and has been translated here as a verb. 1510:9tn The MT repeats this phrase, a clear case of dittography. 1610:9tn Heb “Tarshish stone.” The meaning is uncertain. The term has also been translated “topaz” (NEB), “beryl” (KJV, NASB, NRSV), and “chrysolite” (RSV, NIV). 1710:10tn Or “like a wheel at right angles to another wheel.” Some envision concentric wheels here, while others propose “a globe-like structure in which two wheels stand at right angles” (L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:33-34). See also 1:16. 1810:11sn That is, the cherubim. 1910:11tn Many interpreters assume that the human face of each cherub was the one that looked forward. 2010:12tc The phrase “along with their entire bodies” is absent from the LXX and may be a gloss explaining the following words. 2110:13tn Or “the whirling wheels.” 2210:14tn Heb “each one”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 2310:14sn The living creature described here is thus slightly different from the one described in Ezek 1:10, where a bull’s face appeared instead of a cherub’s. Note that some English versions harmonize the two descriptions and read the same here as in 1:10 (cf. NAB, NLT “an ox”; TEV, CEV “a bull”). This may be justified based on v. 22, which states the creatures’ appearance was the same. 2410:15tn Heb “it was the living creature.” 2510:16tn Heb “lifted.” 2610:17tn Heb “they”; the referent (the cherubim) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 2710:17tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 2810:17tn Heb “they”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 2910:17tn Or “wind.” 3010:17tn Heb “living creature.” 3110:17tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wheels) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 3210:19tn Heb “lifted.” 3310:19tn Or “the ground” (NIV, NCV). 3410:20tn Heb “That was the living creature.”