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

14And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning. 15As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each. 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. 17The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. 18The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with 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 10:9I looked, and each of the four cherubim had a wheel beside him, and the wheels sparkled like beryl.
• Exodus 39:13The fourth row contained a blue-green beryl, an onyx, and a green jasper. All these stones were set in gold filigree.
• Daniel 10:6His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.
• Ezekiel 10:10All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it.
• Job 9:10He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.
• Psalms 36:6Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
• Psalms 40:5O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.
• Romans 11:33Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
• Ephesians 3:10God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities 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