English Standard Version
Ezekiel 1:6
6but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.
Ezekiel 1:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
- New International Version (NIV)but each of them had four faces and four wings.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
- New Living Translation (NLT)except that each had four faces and four wings.
Context of Ezekiel 1:6
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. 5And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but 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. 8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus:
Read all of Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 1:6 word by word
וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה פָנִ֖ים לְאֶחָ֑ת וְאַרְבַּ֥ע כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאַחַ֥ת לָהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:6
- Ezekiel 1:10As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.
- Ezekiel 10:10And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel.
- Revelation 4:7the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
- Ezekiel 1:8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus:
- Exodus 25:20The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
- 1 Kings 6:24Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.
- Isaiah 6:2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Every one had four faces - There were four several figures of these living creatures, and each of these figures had four distinct faces: but as the face of the man was that which was presented to the prophet's view, so that he saw it more plainly than any of the others; hence it is said, Ezekiel 1:5, that each of these figures had the likeness of a man; and the whole of this compound image bore a general resemblance to the human figure.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6In the Revelation of John each “beast” has its own distinctive character, here each unites in itself the four characters; there each has six wings, like the Seraphim Isaiah 6:2, here only four.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. 66. Not only were there four distinct living creatures, but each of the four had four faces, making sixteen in all. The four living creatures of the cherubim answer by contrast to the four world monarchies represented by four beasts, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome (Da 7:1-28). The Fathers identified them with the four Gospels: Matthew the lion, Mark the ox, Luke the man, John the eagle. Two cherubim only stood over the ark in the temple; two more are…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 1:6
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
Commentaries