Greg Carlston

Ezekiel Chapter 1 (Ezekiel sees in vision four living creatures, four wheels, and the glory of God on his throne.)

NOW it came to pass in the thirtieth

A year, in the fourth
B month, in the fifth
C day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that
D the heavens were opened, and
D I saw visions of God. In the fifth
C day of the
B month, which was the fifth
A year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,

A The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in
b the land of the Chaldeans by
b the river Chebar; and
A the hand of the LORD was there upon him. (4)And
B I looked, and, behold,
C a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a
D brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as
E the colour of amber out of the midst of the fire. (5) Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living acreatures. And
F this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. (6) And every one had four b faces, and every one had four c wings. (7) And their d feet
were straight d feet; and the sole of their c feet was like the sole of a calf's b foot: and they sparkled a like
G the colour of burnished brass. (8)And they had the hands of a man under
H their wings on their
I four sides; and they four had
J their faces and their wings. (9) a Their wings were joined one to another; b they turned not when they went; c they went every one straight
forward. (10) d As for the likeness of their faces, they four had e the face of a man, and f the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four
had f the face of an ox on the left side; and they four also had e the face of an eagle. (11) d Thus were their faces: and their wings were
stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. (12) And c they went every one
straight forward whither the spirit was to go, they went; and b they turned not when they went. (13) As for the likeness of the living
creatures, a their appearance was like
K like burning coals of fire, and the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among
L the living creatures; and
M the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.(14) And
N the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. (15) Now as I beheld the living creatures,
O one wheel
P upon the earth by
Q the living creatures, with
R his four faces. (16) The appearance of
S the wheels and
T their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and
U they four had one likeness: and their appearance and
V their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. (17)
W When they went, they went upon their
X four sides: and they turned not when they went. (18) As for

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Y their rings,
Z they were so high that
Z they were dreadful; and
Y their rings were full of eyes round about
X them four. (19) And
W when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when
V the living creatures were lifted up from the earth
U the wheels were lifted up. (20) Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was
T their spirit to go; and
S the wheels were lifted up over against them: for
R the spirit of
Q the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and
when those were
P lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for
O the spirit of
N the living creature was in the wheels. (22) And
M the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of
L the living creature was as
K the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over
J their heads above. (23) And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which
covered on
I this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. (24)And a when they went, b I heard the noise (discussion) of
c their wings, like d the noise of great waters as e the voice of the Almighty, e the voice of speech, as d the noise of an host: when they
stood, they let down c their wings. (25) And b there was as voice from the firmament that was over their heads, a when they stood, and had
let down
H their wings. (26) And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as
a
G the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was
F the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. (27) And I saw as
E the colour of amber, as the appearance of a fire 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
D it had brightness round about. (28) As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round
about. This was the appearance of the likeness of
C the glory of the LORD. And when
B I saw it and I fell upon my face, and
A I heard a voice of one that spake

Comments: Ezekiel and Lehi were contemporaries in Jerusalem: Lehi left Jerusalem about 600 BC; Ezekiel's vision occurred about 592 BC. Lehi's vision is future-
related: Lehi is sent to warn the people to "repent or Jerusalem will be destroyed." Ezekiel's vision is given in present-tense: he is a captive of foreign invaders - Lehi's
prophecy had been fulfilled. Many people find the description of Ezekiel's vision to be undecipherable. Some people even think the wording in this chapter is describing
rocket-ships, UFO's, and alien creatures. Compare this chapter to Nephi's description of Lehi's vision (1 Nephi 1). The overall description and specific words in 1Nephi
1 and Ezekiel 1 are very similar. First Nephi 1 helps us begin to understand more clearly Ezekiel's vision. This is a powerful example of how The Book of Mormon
does, indeed, restore "plain and precious truths" that have been lost from the scriptures - in process of translation or by the design of men. The Jewish Bible translates
"living creatures" as "living beings." In Ezekiel 1, the words living creatures and wheels are used in different ways to describe a variety of heavenly beings . Lehi's
vision is much more specific: the heavenly beings are numberless concourses of angels, the Savior, and the Twelve (See Comparison of the visions of Lehi and Ezekiel).

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Ezekiel Chapter 1 (one-page view).

NOW it came to pass in the thirtieth
A year, in the fourth
B month, in the fifth
C day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that
D the heavens were opened, and
D I saw visions of God. In the fifth
C day of the
B month, which was the fifth
A year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
A The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in
b the land of the Chaldeans by
b the river Chebar; and
A the hand of the LORD was there upon him. (4)And
B I looked, and, behold,
C a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a
D brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as
E the colour of amber out of the midst of the fire. (5) Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living acreatures. And
F this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. (6) And every one had four b faces, and every one had four c wings. (7) And their d feet were straight d feet; and the sole of their c feet was like the sole of...
G the colour of burnished brass. (8)And they had the hands of a man under
H their wings on their
I four sides; and they four had
J their faces and their wings. (9) a Their wings were joined one to another; b they turned not when they went; c they went every one straight forward. (10) d As for the likeness of their faces, they four…
K like burning coals of fire, and the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among
L the living creatures; and
M the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.(14) And
N the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. (15) Now as I beheld the living creatures,
O one wheel
P upon the earth by
Q the living creatures, with
R his four faces. (16) The appearance of
S the wheels and
T their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and
U they four had one likeness: and their appearance and
V their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. (17)
W When they went, they went upon their
X four sides: and they turned not when they went. (18) As for
Y their rings,
Z they were so high that
Z they were dreadful; and
Y their rings were full of eyes round about
X them four. (19) And
W when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when
V the living creatures were lifted up from the earth
U the wheels were lifted up. (20) Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was
T their spirit to go; and
S the wheels were lifted up over against them: for
R the spirit of
Q the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted
P up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for
O the spirit of
N the living creature was in the wheels. (22) And
M the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of
L the living creature was as
K the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over
J their heads above. (23) And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on
I this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. (24)And a when they went, b I heard the noise (discussion) of c their wings, like d the noise of great waters as e the voice of…
H their wings. (26) And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as
G the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the athrone was
F the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. (27) And I saw as
E the colour of amber, as the appearance of a fire 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
D it had brightness round about. (28) As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of
C the glory of the LORD. And when
B I saw it and I fell upon my face, and
A I heard a voice of one that spake

3 Ezekiel 1 22july2010.doc