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 ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15Now as I beheld the living beings, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living beings, with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like 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. 17When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18As for their rims, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rims were full of eyes all around them four.

Ezekiel 1:16 word by word

מַרְאֵ֨ה הָאוֹפַנִּ֤ים וּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶם֙ כְּעֵ֣ין תַּרְשִׁ֔ישׁ וּדְמ֥וּת אֶחָ֖ד לְאַרְבַּעְתָּ֑ן וּמַרְאֵיהֶם֙ וּמַ֣עֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר יִהְיֶ֥ה הָאוֹפַ֖ן בְּת֥וֹךְ הָאוֹפָֽן׃Read the interlinear

• appearanceמַרְאֶהmar'eh · appearanceH4758
• wheelsאוֹפָן'ôphân 'ôphân · wheelH212
• workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• colourעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: appearanceH5869
• berylתַּרְשִׁישׁtarshîysh · jasperH8658
• fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• likenessדְּמוּתdemûth · likenessH1823
• middleתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432

Cross-references for Ezekiel 1:16

• Ezekiel 10:9And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubim, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone.
• Exodus 39:13And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in settings of gold in their inclosings.
• Daniel 10:6His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
• Ezekiel 10:10And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.
• Job 9:10Who doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.
• Psalms 36:6Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
• Psalms 40:5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are toward us: they cannot be reckoned up in order to thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.
• Romans 11:33O 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 to the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

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