and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
Parallel translations
- WEB They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness.
- KJV And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
- NKJV and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.
- NASB and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
- NLT There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They saw the God of Israel, with a pavement like sapphire beneath His feet, clear as the sky. God granted a real but veiled vision of His glory.
Overview
This is a guarded theophany: they perceive God's presence and the brilliant beauty beneath His feet rather than His full essence, for no one can see God and live. The sapphire pavement conveys transcendent purity and majesty. That sinners could behold such a vision and live testifies to the covenant just sealed in blood. The fuller revelation of God's glory comes in Christ, in whom we behold God's glory in the face of the Son.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- John 1:18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- Ezek 10:1And I looked and saw above the expanse, above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire.
- Exod 33:20But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
- Exod 33:23Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
- Gen 32:30So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- Isa 6:1–5In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple.
- 1 Tim 6:16He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
- Rev 4:3The One seated there looked like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne.
- Ezek 1:26–28Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man.
- Matt 17:2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
- Rev 21:11shining with the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper, as clear as crystal.
- 1 Jn 4:12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
- John 14:9Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
- John 6:46not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
- 1 Kgs 22:19Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.
- Rev 1:16He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
- Song 6:10Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession?
- Exod 3:6Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
- Judg 13:21–22And when the angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it had been the angel of the LORD.
- Rev 21:18–23The wall was made of jasper, and the city itself of pure gold, as pure as glass.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 24:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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