English
<b>It was in the thirtieth year</b> of the fifty year cycle of counting the Jubilee, <b>on the fifth day of the fourth month—</b>the month of Tammuz—while <b>I was among</b> those who were <b>from the Land of Israel, near the Kevar river, the heavens opened, and I saw visions of God's Divine Presence. On the fifth day of the month,</b> which was in <b>the fifth year</b> after Jehoiachin <b>was exiled, the word of the Lord came to</b> Ezekiel <b>son of Buzi the Kohen,</b> in Babylon, <b>the land of the Chaldeans, near the river Kevar. The hand of the Lord—</b>God's powerful prophecy—<b>was upon him there,</b> and he began to prophesize. Ezekiel said: <b>I saw, behold,</b> the chariot of the throne of the Divine Presence in the form of <b>a stormy wind</b> coming from Babylon <b>in the north with a huge cloud and a blazing fire,</b> symbolizing the destruction of the Holy Temple at the hands of the Babylonians, <b>and a brightness surrounded the cloud,</b> symbolizing that the Jewish Nation would eventually be redeemed from their exile. <b>From within all of this,</b> I could see <b>the image of the</b> angel Chashmal <b>within the fire.</b> Also within the fire, <b>I saw the likenesses of four living beings,</b> and this <b>was their appearance: they had the form of a man. Each one had four faces and each one of them had four wings. Their legs were</b> like <b>one straight leg</b> without any joints, the soles <b>of their feet were</b> oval in shape, <b>and they sparkled like pure bronze. They had human hands under their wings on their four sides, and all four of their faces and their wings had</b> these same features. <b>Their wings</b> were spread, each one was <b>joined to the other</b> such that all of their faces were covered by the wings. They did not have to <b>turn as they moved,</b> for they <b>each had a face in any direction that they</b> wished to go. The <b>form of the faces of all four of them</b> were as follows: the face <b>of a man</b> faced toward me, <b>the face of a lion was on the right side, the face of an ox was on the left, and the face of an eagle</b> faced away from me. This was so <b>for all four of them. Their wings were extended upward</b> covering their faces; each one had <b>two wings touching</b> those of the one next to it, <b>and two covering their own bodies.</b> Each would go in <b>the direction of its face;</b> they would each go to whichever <b>direction they desired to go, and they did not have to turn as they moved,</b> because they had a face in each direction. This <b>was the form of the living beings:</b> their appearance was like <b>fiery coals,</b> burning like the appearance of torches, and this same feature <b>was among all the living beings.</b> There was an intense <b>brightness to the fire,</b> and lightning came forth <b>from the fire.</b> The living beings would run to get closer to the Divine Presence, but they would immediately return because of the intensity. Their constant movement back and forth gave them <b>the appearance of flying sparks. I looked at the living beings, and behold,</b> there was one wheel for <b>each of its four faces on the ground, near the living beings. The wheels and their forms</b> had the same appearance as that of a precious stone called Tarshish. All four wheels had <b>the exact same form,</b> and they and their parts appeared <b>as a wheel within a wheel,</b> one forward and one sideways. <b>When they moved, they could go in all four directions;</b> they did not have to <b>turn when they moved.</b> They had great <b>backs, they were very high</b> and tall, they were awesome and frightening to look at, <b>and their backs were full of eyes</b> so that they could see <b>all around</b> in all directions; this was so <b>for all four of them.</b> As the living beings would go, <b>the wheels would go beside them,</b> and when the living beings would lift themselves off the ground, the wheels were lifted along with them. <b>Wherever</b> God willed the living beings to <b>go, they would go,</b> because <b>the will of God</b> guided them to <b>go there; the wheels would</b> simultaneously lift themselves <b>toward them,</b> for <b>the will of the Lord that was in each living being was also in the wheels. When the living beings would move, the wheels would move as well, and when they would stand still, the wheels would stand still</b>