When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now as I saw the living creatures, behold, one wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces of it.
- KJV Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
- NKJV Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces.
- NASB Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.
- NLT As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each.
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
Beside each creature Ezekiel sees a wheel on the earth. The wheels link the heavenly throne to movement throughout the earth.
Overview
The wheels connect the vision to the ground, suggesting God's glory is mobile and present on earth, not fixed in one place. This was crucial comfort for exiles who feared God remained behind in Jerusalem. The wheels imply God's throne can go wherever His purposes require. The vision affirms the LORD's sovereign presence even in Babylon.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Ezek 10:9Then I looked and saw four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. And the wheels gleamed like a beryl stone.
- Dan 7:9As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
- Ezek 1:6but each had four faces and four wings.
- Rev 4:7The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
- Ezek 1:19–21So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.
- Ezek 10:13–17I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.”
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 1:15 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.