New Living Translation
Ezekiel 1:6
6except that each had four faces and four wings.
Ezekiel 1:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
- New International Version (NIV)but each of them had four faces and four wings.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings.
Context of Ezekiel 1:6
4As I looked, I saw a great storm coming from the north, driving before it a huge cloud that flashed with lightning and shone with brilliant light. There was fire inside the cloud, and in the middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber. 5From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, except that each had four faces and four wings. 7Their legs were straight, and their feet had hooves like those of a calf and shone like burnished bronze. 8Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings.
Read all of Ezekiel 1Ezekiel 1:6 word by word
וְאַרְבָּעָ֥ה פָנִ֖ים לְאֶחָ֑ת וְאַרְבַּ֥ע כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאַחַ֥ת לָהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:6
- Ezekiel 1:10Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back.
- Ezekiel 10:10All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it.
- Revelation 4:7The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
- Ezekiel 1:8Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings.
- Exodus 25:20The cherubim will face each other and look down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they will protect it.
- 1 Kings 6:24The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7-1/2 feet long.
- Isaiah 6:2Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 1:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Every one had four faces - There were four several figures of these living creatures, and each of these figures had four distinct faces: but as the face of the man was that which was presented to the prophet's view, so that he saw it more plainly than any of the others; hence it is said, Ezekiel 1:5, that each of these figures had the likeness of a man; and the whole of this compound image bore a general resemblance to the human figure.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6In the Revelation of John each “beast” has its own distinctive character, here each unites in itself the four characters; there each has six wings, like the Seraphim Isaiah 6:2, here only four.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-9At the center of the fiery cloud were four living beings. Each one had four faces and four wings. The number four often represents completeness in the Bible. These creatures, made up of different features, represented the whole created order (everything that God has made).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Not only were there four distinct living creatures, but each of the four had four faces, making sixteen in all. The four living creatures of the cherubim answer by contrast to the four world monarchies represented by four beasts, Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome (Da 7:1-28). The Fathers identified them with the four Gospels: Matthew the lion, Mark the ox, Luke the man, John the eagle. Two cherubim only stood over the ark in the temple; two more are…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 1:6
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries