Ezekiel 1:16

Ezekiel 1:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
• New International Version (NIV)This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.
• English Standard Version (ESV)As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

Context of Ezekiel 1:16

14The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning. 15Then I looked, and I saw one wheel on the ground beside each of the four beings. The appearance of the wheels and their construction was like gleaming jasper, and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel. 17When they moved they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved. 18Their rims were high and awesome, and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around.

Ezekiel 1:16 word by word

מַרְאֵ֨ה הָאוֹפַנִּ֤ים וּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם֙ כְּעֵ֣ין תַּרְשִׁ֔ישׁ וּדְמ֥וּת אֶחָ֖ד לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֑ן וּמַרְאֵיהֶם֙ וּמַ֣עֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר יִהְיֶ֥ה הָאוֹפַ֖ן בְּת֥וֹךְ הָאוֹפָֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The appearanceמַרְאֶהmar'eh · appearanceH4758
• of the wheelsאוֹפָן'ôphân 'ôphân · wheelH212
• and their workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• like unto the colourעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• of a berylתַּרְשִׁישׁtarshîysh · jasperH8658
• and they fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• had oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• likenessדְּמוּתdemûth · likenessH1823
• in the middleתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432

Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:16

• Ezekiel 10:9As I watched, I noticed four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; the wheels gleamed like jasper.
• Exodus 39:13and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold filigree settings.
• Daniel 10:6His body resembled yellow jasper, and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches; his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd.
• Ezekiel 10:10As for their appearance, all four of them looked the same, something like a wheel within a wheel.
• Job 9:10he does great and unsearchable things, and wonderful things without number.
• Psalms 36:6Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea; you preserve mankind and the animal kingdom.
• Psalms 40:5O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things; you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us. No one can thwart you! I want to declare them and talk about them, but they are too numerous to recount!
• Romans 11:33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!
• Ephesians 3:10The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:16

• 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. 16-17Building a real chariot with each wheel having another wheel turning sideways inside it is impossible. This image shows a chariot that can move easily in any direction, symbolizing God's freedom to act in judgment.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. appearance ... work--their form and the material of their work. beryl--rather, "the glancing appearance of the Tarshish stone"; the chrysolite or topaz, brought from Tarshish or Tartessus in Spain. It was one of the gems in the breastplate of the high priest (Ex 28:20; So 5:14; Da 10:6). four had one likeness--The similarity of the wheels to one another implies that there is no inequality in all God's works, that all have a beautiful analogy and…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 1:16

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Beryl
• Wheel

In the dictionaries

• Living creatures
• Appearance
• Assyria
• Cherubim (1)
• Creature
• Living Creature
• Luke, the Evangelist
• Prophecy; Prophets
• Stones, Precious
• Tarshish

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