Ezekiel

Ezekiel 10

22 verses · Major Prophets · Old Testament

1Then 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. 2He spoke to the man clothed in linen, and said, “Go in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub, and fill both your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.”

He went in as I watched. 3Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4Yahweh’s glory mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Yahweh’s glory. 5The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6It came to pass, when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” that he went in, and stood beside a wheel. 7The cherub stretched out his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it, and put it into the hands of him who was clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8The form of a man’s hand appeared here in the cherubim under their wings.

9I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub. The appearance of the wheels was like a beryl stone. 10As for their appearance, the four of them had one likeness, like a wheel within a wheel. 11When they went, they went in their four directions. They didn’t turn as they went, but to the place where the head looked they followed it. They didn’t turn as they went. 12Their whole body, including their backs, their hands, their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes all around, even the wheels that the four of them had. 13As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, “the whirling wheels”. 14Every one them had four faces. The first face was the face of the cherub. The second face was the face of a man. The third face was the face of a lion. The fourth was the face of an eagle.

15The cherubim mounted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar. 16When the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels also didn’t turn from beside them. 17When they stood, these stood. When they mounted up, these mounted up with them; for the spirit of the living creature was in them.

18Yahweh’s glory went out from over the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19The cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight when they went out, with the wheels beside them. Then they stood at the door of the east gate of Yahweh’s house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

20This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21Every one had four faces, and every one four wings. The likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22As for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves. They each went straight forward.


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What others are saying

5 commentators · 57 notes on this chapter

Matthew HenryEnglish Puritan / Nonconformist · 1708–17142

Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.

Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.

v. 1–7

To inspire us with a holy awe and dread of God, and to fill us with his fear, we may observe, in this part of the vision which the prophet had, I. The glorious appearance of his majesty. Something of the invisible world is here in the visible, some faint…

v. 8–22

We have here a further account of the vision of God's glory which Ezekiel saw, here intended to introduce that direful omen of the departure of that glory from them, which would open the door for ruin to break in. I. Ezekiel sees the glory of God shining in…

John GillParticular Baptist / High Calvinist · 1746–176322

The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.

Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.

v. 1

Then I looked, and, behold,.... After the vision of the destruction of the greater part of the inhabitants of Jerusalem by the six men with slaughter weapons, and of the preservation of a few by the man clothed with linen; another vision is seen by the…

v. 2

And he spake unto the man clothed with linen,.... That is, the God of Israel, or the glory of the Lord, that sat upon the throne before described; he gave orders to the man clothed in linen, who appears in another character, and represents the Chaldean or…

v. 3

Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house,.... According to the Targum, it was the south side of the house; and so Jarchi interprets it opposite to the north, where the gross idolatries were committed, Ezekiel 8:3; standing at the greatest…

Adam ClarkeMethodist / Wesleyan-Arminian · 1810–182611

The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.

Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.

v. 1

As it were a sapphire stone - See the note on Eze 1:22-26 (note). The chariot, here mentioned by the prophet, was precisely the same as that which he saw at the river Chebar, as himself tells us, Eze 1:15, of which see the description in Ezekiel 1.

v. 2

Coals of fire - These were to signify the burning of the city by the Chaldeans. It seems that the space between the four wheels, which was all on fire, was that from which those coals were taken.

v. 3

On the right side of the house - The right hand always marked the south among the Hebrews.

Keil & DelitzschGerman Lutheran, conservative-critical · 1861–18752

The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.

Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.

v. 1–8

The angel scatters coals of fire over Jerusalem. - Eze 10:1. And I saw, and behold upon the firmament, which was above the cherubim, it was like sapphire-stone, to look at as the likeness of a throne; He appeared above them. Eze 10:2. And He spake to the man…

v. 9–22

The Glory of the Lord Forsakes the Temple Eze 10:9. And I saw, and behold four wheels by the side of the cherubim, one wheel by the side of every cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like the look of a chrysolith stone. Eze 10:10. And as for their…

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownScottish Presbyterian / Reformed · 187120

The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.

Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.

v. 2

he--Jehovah; He who sat on the "throne." the man--the Messenger of mercy becoming the Messenger of judgment (see on Eze 9:2). Human agents of destruction shall fulfil the will of "the Man," who is Lord of men. wheels--Hebrew, galgal, implying quick…

v. 3

right . . . of . . . house--The scene of the locality whence judgment emanates is the temple, to mark God's vindication of His holiness injured there. The cherubim here are not those in the holy of holies, for the latter had not "wheels." They stood on "the…

v. 4

The court outside was full of the Lord's brightness, while it was only the cloud that filled the house inside, the scene of idolatries, and therefore of God's displeasure. God's throne was on the threshold. The temple, once filled with brightness, is now…

World English Bible — Public domain