New King James Version
Ezekiel 1:15
15Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces.
Ezekiel 1:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
- New International Version (NIV)As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.
- New Living Translation (NLT)As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each.
Context of Ezekiel 1:15
13As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning. Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 16The 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. 17When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went.
Read all of Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 1:15 word by word
וָאֵ֖רֶא הַחַיּ֑וֹת וְהִנֵּה֩ אוֹפַ֨ן אֶחָ֥ד בָּאָ֛רֶץ אֵ֥צֶל הַחַיּ֖וֹת לְאַרְבַּ֥עַת פָּנָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now as I beheldרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the living creaturesחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
- behold oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- wheelאוֹפָן'ôphân 'ôphân · wheelH212
- upon the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- byאֵ֫צֶל'êtsel · besideH681
- with his fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
- facesפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:15
- Ezekiel 1:19When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
- Ezekiel 10:9And when I looked, there were four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by each other cherub; the wheels appeared to have the color of a beryl stone.
- Daniel 7:9“I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
- Ezekiel 1:6Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
- Revelation 4:7The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15One wheel upon the earth - It seems at first view there were four wheels, one for each of the living creatures; that is, the creatures were compound, so were the wheels, for there was "a wheel in the middle of a wheel." And it is generally supposed that these wheels cut each other at right angles up and down: and this is the manner in which they are generally represented; but most probably the wheel within means merely the nave in which the spokes are…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Translate it: “one wheel upon the earth by” each of “the liviing creatures” on his four sides (i. e. on the four sides of each of the living creatures). There was a wheel to “each” of the living creatures: it was set “by,” i. e. immediately “beneath” the feet of the living creature, and was constructed for direct motion in any of the four lines in which the creatures themselves moved. Their “work” or make, i. e. their construction, was “a wheel in the…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. 15The living creatures were not the only reason for fear. Among them, Ezekiel saw four wheels. These wheels were part of a divine war chariot (a chariot that symbolized God’s power in battle). In the ancient world, chariots were powerful weapons of war. Many people feared them because they moved quickly and caused great destruction.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. one wheel--The "dreadful height" of the wheel (Eze 1:18) indicates the gigantic, terrible energy of the complicated revolutions of God's providence, bringing about His purposes with unerring certainty. One wheel appeared traversely within another, so that the movement might be without turning, whithersoever the living creatures might advance (Eze 1:17). Thus each wheel was composed of two circles cutting one another at right angles, "one" only of…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 1:15
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries