Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
Parallel translations
- WEB their wings were joined to one another; they didn’t turn when they went; each one went straight forward.
- BSB and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.
- 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 10:22And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.
- Ezek 1:11–12Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
- 1 Cor 1:10Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
- 2 Chr 3:11–12And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.
- Luke 9:62And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
- Prov 4:25–27Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
- Ezek 10:11When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went.
- Luke 9:51And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
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 1:9 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.