Christian Standard Bible
Ezekiel 1:18
18Their four rims were tall and awe-inspiring, completely covered with eyes.
Ezekiel 1:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
- New International Version (NIV)Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
- New King James Version (NKJV)As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.
Context of Ezekiel 1:18
16The appearance of the wheels and their craftsmanship was like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their appearance and craftsmanship was like a wheel within a wheel. 17When they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. Their four rims were tall and awe-inspiring, completely covered with eyes. 19When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the earth, the wheels also rose. 20Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, the creatures went in the direction the Spirit was moving. The wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
Read all of Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 1:18 word by word
וְגַ֨בֵּיהֶ֔ן וְגֹ֥בַהּ לָהֶ֖ם וְיִרְאָ֣ה לָהֶ֑ם וְגַבֹּתָ֗ם מְלֵאֹ֥ת עֵינַ֛יִם סָבִ֖יב לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:18
- Job 37:22Out of the north he comes, shrouded in a golden glow; awesome majesty surrounds him.
- Psalms 77:16The water saw you, God. The water saw you; it trembled. Even the depths shook.
- Psalms 97:2Clouds and total darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
- Isaiah 55:9“For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
- Ezekiel 10:12Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, wings, and the wheels that the four of them had, were full of eyes all around.
- Proverbs 15:3The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.
- Zechariah 4:10For who despises the day of small things? These seven eyes of the Lord, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
- Revelation 4:6Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18As for their rings - The strakes which form the rim or periphery. They were dreadful - They were exceedingly great in their diameter, so that it was tremendous to look from the part that touched the ground to that which was opposite above. Were full of eyes - Does not this refer to the appearance of nails keeping on the spokes, or strakes or bands upon the rim?Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Rings - The felloes (circumference) of the wheels: they were both high and terrible. The “eyes” may have been no more than dazzling spots adding to their brilliancy. But it seems more likely that they had a symbolic meaning expressing either the universal fulfillment of God‘s will through His creation (2 Chronicles 16:9; compare Ezekiel 10:12), or the constant and unceasing praise which His works are ever rendering to Him Revelation 4:8. The power of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-25Verses 15-25 Providence, represented by the wheels, produces changes. Sometimes one spoke of the wheel is uppermost, sometimes another; but the motion of the wheel on its own axletree is regular and steady. We need not despond in adversity; the wheels are turning round and will raise us in due time, while those who presume in prosperity know not how soon they may be cast down. The wheel is near the living creatures; the angels are employed as ministers of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18The wheels were tall and frightening. They were covered with eyes (see Ezekiel 10:12). Because of this, no one could hide from the chariot. Just as no one could escape from it, no one could escape its sight.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. rings--that is, felloes or circumferences of the wheels. eyes--The multiplicity of eyes here in the wheels, and Eze 10:12, in the cherubim themselves, symbolizes the plenitude of intelligent life, the eye being the window through which "the spirit of the living creatures" in the wheels (Eze 1:20) looks forth (compare Zec 4:10). As the wheels signify the providence of God, so the eyes imply that He sees all the circumstances of each case, and does…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 1:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Christian Standard Bible — © 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Commentaries