English Standard Version
Ezekiel 1:5
5And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness,
Ezekiel 1:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
- New International Version (NIV)and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
- New Living Translation (NLT)From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human,
Context of Ezekiel 1:5
3the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there. 4As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze.
Read all of Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 1:5 word by word
וּמִ֨תּוֹכָ֔הּ דְּמ֖וּת אַרְבַּ֣ע חַיּ֑וֹת וְזֶה֙ מַרְאֵֽיהֶ֔ן דְּמ֥וּת אָדָ֖ם לָהֵֽנָּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:5
- Revelation 4:6and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:
- Revelation 6:6And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Also out on the midst thereof came - four living creatures - As the amber-coloured body was the center of the fire, and this fire was in the center of the cloud; so out of this amber-coloured igneous center came the living creatures just mentioned.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Living creatures - The Hebrew word answers very nearly to the English “beings,” and denotes those who live, whether angels, men (in whom is the breath of life), or inferior creatures.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-9At the center of the fiery cloud were four living beings. Each one had four faces and four wings. The number four often represents completeness in the Bible. These creatures, made up of different features, represented the whole created order (everything that God has made).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Ezekiel was himself of a "gigantic nature, and thereby suited to counteract the Babylonish spirit of the times, which loved to manifest itself in gigantic, grotesque forms" [Hengstenberg]. living creatures--So the Greek ought to have been translated in the parallel passage, Re 4:6, not as English Version, "beasts"; for one of the "four" is a man, and man cannot be termed "beast." Eze 10:20 shows that it is the cherubim that are meant. likeness of a…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 1:5
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
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