God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 1:6
6but each of them had four faces and 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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
Context of Ezekiel 1:6
4As I looked, I saw a storm coming from the north. There was an immense cloud with flashing lightning surrounded by a bright light. The middle of the lightning looked like glowing metal. 5In the center of the cloud I saw what looked like four living creatures. They were shaped like humans, but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7Their legs were straight, their feet were like those of calves, and they glittered like polished bronze. 8They had human hands under their wings on each of their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
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 1:10Their faces looked like this: From the front, each creature had the face of a human. From the right, each one had the face of a lion. From the left, each one had the face of a bull. And from the back, each one had the face of an eagle.
- Ezekiel 10:10All four wheels looked the same. Each was like a wheel within a wheel.
- Revelation 4:7The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like a young bull, the third had a face like a human, and the fourth was like a flying eagle.
- Ezekiel 1:8They had human hands under their wings on each of their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.
- Exodus 25:20The angels should have their wings spread above the throne of mercy, overshadowing it. They should face each other, looking at the throne of mercy.
- 1 Kings 6:24Each wing of the angels was 7½ feet long. The distance from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was 15 feet.
- Isaiah 6:2Angels were standing above him. Each had six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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