Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its body.
Parallel translations
- WEB Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above. Two wings of each one touched another, and two covered their bodies.
- KJV Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
- NKJV Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies.
- NASB Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies.
- NLT Each had two pairs of outstretched wings—one pair stretched out to touch the wings of the living beings on either side of it, and the other pair covered its body.
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
Two wings stretch upward toward one another and two cover their bodies. This blends readiness for service with humble reverence.
Overview
Wings spread upward show alertness and the capacity to move at God's command. Wings covering the body echo the seraphim of Isaiah 6 who veil themselves before God's holiness. Even mighty heavenly beings approach God with reverent humility. Their posture teaches that nearness to God's glory calls for both service and worshipful modesty.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Isa 6:2Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
- Ezek 1:23And under the expanse, their wings stretched out toward one another. Each one also had two wings covering its body.
- Ezek 10:16When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side.
- Ezek 10:19As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went. And they stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, with the glory of the God of Israel above them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 1:11 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.