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and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.
Ezekiel 1:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB their wings were joined to one another; they didn’t turn when they went; each one went straight forward.
  • KJV Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
  • NKJV Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.
  • NASB their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward.
  • NLT The wings of each living being touched the wings of the beings beside it. Each one 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

Their wings touch one another, and they move straight ahead without turning. They act in perfect unity and unwavering obedience.

Overview

The joined wings depict harmony and coordinated service among the heavenly beings. Moving straight forward without turning pictures single-minded obedience to God's direction. There is no hesitation or deviation in their service. This unified, undivided devotion models the worship and obedience God's people are called to render.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Ezek 10:22Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.
  • Ezek 1:11–12Such 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.
  • 1 Cor 1:10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.
  • 2 Chr 3:11–12The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the wall of the temple, and its other wing was five cubits long and touched the wing of the other cherub.
  • Luke 9:62Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
  • Prov 4:25–27Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
  • Ezek 10:11When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved.
  • Luke 9:51As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Ezekiel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Ezekiel 1:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EzekielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 1:9 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.