When they went, they went in their four directions: they didn’t turn when they went.
Parallel translations
- KJV When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.
- BSB As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved.
- NKJV When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went.
- NASB Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved.
- NLT The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved.
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 wheels can move in any of four directions without turning. This pictures God's ability to act anywhere without hindrance.
Overview
Like the creatures, the wheels never need to turn, moving instantly in any direction. This depicts the unhindered freedom of God's rule across the whole earth. No obstacle or distance limits the outworking of His will. The vision assures exiled Israel that God's reign extends even to their place of captivity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezek 1:9their wings were joined to one another; they didn’t turn when they went; each one went straight forward.
- Ezek 1:12Each one went straight forward: where the spirit was to go, they went; they didn’t turn when they went.
- Ezek 10:1–11Then I looked, and see, in the expanse that was over the head of the cherubim there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
- Isa 55:11so is my word that goes out of my mouth: it will not return to me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing I sent it to do.
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 1:17 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.