New King James Version
Ezekiel 1:17
17When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went.
Ezekiel 1:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.
- New International Version (NIV)As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went.
- English Standard Version (ESV)When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved.
Context of Ezekiel 1:17
15Now 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. When 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. 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.
Read all of Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 1:17 word by word
עַל־אַרְבַּ֥עַת רִבְעֵיהֶ֖ן בְּלֶכְתָּ֣ם יֵלֵ֑כוּ לֹ֥א יִסַּ֖בּוּ בְּלֶכְתָּֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:17
- Ezekiel 1:9Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.
- Ezekiel 10:1And I looked, and there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
- Isaiah 55:11So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:17
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Upon their four sides - i. e. straight in the direction toward which their faces looked. Since the four quarters express all directions, the construction of the living creatures was such that they could move in each direction alike.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. 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. 1717. went upon their four sides--Those faces or sides of the four wheels moved which answered to the direction in which the cherubim desired to move; while the transverse circles in each of the four composite wheels remained suspended from the ground, so as not to impede the movements of the others.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 1:17
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