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 Living Translation (NLT)The wheels sparkled as if made of beryl. All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it.

Context of Ezekiel 1:16

14And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning. 15Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 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. 17When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. 18As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.

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 10:9And 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.
• Exodus 39:13the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings.
• Daniel 10:6His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.
• Ezekiel 10:10As for their appearance, all four looked alike—as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
• Job 9:10He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number.
• Psalms 36:6Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
• Psalms 40:5Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.
• Romans 11:33Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
• Ephesians 3:10to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

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