New Living Translation
Ezekiel 1:18
18The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around.
Ezekiel 1:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
- New International Version (NIV)Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
- New King James Version (NKJV)As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them.
Context of Ezekiel 1:18
16The 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. The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around. 19When the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When they flew upward, the wheels went up, too. 20The spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings also went.
Read all of Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 1:18 word by word
וְגַ֨בֵּיהֶ֔ן וְגֹ֥בַהּ לָהֶ֖ם וְיִרְאָ֣ה לָהֶ֑ם וְגַבֹּתָ֗ם מְלֵאֹ֥ת עֵינַ֛יִם סָבִ֖יב לְאַרְבַּעְתָּֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:18
- Job 37:22So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God. He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
- Psalms 77:16When the Red Sea saw you, O God, its waters looked and trembled! The sea quaked to its very depths.
- Psalms 97:2Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
- Isaiah 55:9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
- Ezekiel 10:12Both the cherubim and the wheels were covered with eyes. The cherubim had eyes all over their bodies, including their hands, their backs, and their wings.
- Proverbs 15:3The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.
- Zechariah 4:10Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)
- Revelation 4:6In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18As for their rings - The strakes which form the rim or periphery. They were dreadful - They were exceedingly great in their diameter, so that it was tremendous to look from the part that touched the ground to that which was opposite above. Were full of eyes - Does not this refer to the appearance of nails keeping on the spokes, or strakes or bands upon the rim?Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Rings - The felloes (circumference) of the wheels: they were both high and terrible. The “eyes” may have been no more than dazzling spots adding to their brilliancy. But it seems more likely that they had a symbolic meaning expressing either the universal fulfillment of God‘s will through His creation (2 Chronicles 16:9; compare Ezekiel 10:12), or the constant and unceasing praise which His works are ever rendering to Him Revelation 4:8. The power of…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. 18The wheels were tall and frightening. They were covered with eyes (see Ezekiel 10:12). Because of this, no one could hide from the chariot. Just as no one could escape from it, no one could escape its sight.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. rings--that is, felloes or circumferences of the wheels. eyes--The multiplicity of eyes here in the wheels, and Eze 10:12, in the cherubim themselves, symbolizes the plenitude of intelligent life, the eye being the window through which "the spirit of the living creatures" in the wheels (Eze 1:20) looks forth (compare Zec 4:10). As the wheels signify the providence of God, so the eyes imply that He sees all the circumstances of each case, and does…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 1:18
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
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