Each one went straight forward: where the spirit was to go, they went; they didn’t turn when they went.
Parallel translations
- KJV And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
- BSB Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they moved.
- NKJV And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
- NASB And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went.
- NLT They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.
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
The creatures go wherever the spirit directs, straight ahead without turning. They move in perfect, immediate obedience to God's will.
Overview
The 'spirit' guiding them signals that God's purpose, not their own, governs their movement. Their straight, undeviating motion pictures flawless responsiveness to divine direction. This vision portrays a creation perfectly aligned with the will of God. It anticipates the prayer that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ezek 1:9their wings were joined to one another; they didn’t turn when they went; each one went straight forward.
- Ezek 1:17When they went, they went in their four directions: they didn’t turn when they went.
- Ezek 10:22As for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward.
- Ezek 1:20–21Wherever the spirit was to go, they went; there was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
- Heb 1:14Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 1:12 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.