La visión de la gloria divina
1 El día cinco del mes cuarto del año treinta, yo, Ezequiel, me encontraba junto al río Quebar, entre los cautivos. De pronto, los cielos se abrieron y tuve visiones de parte de Dios.
2 Habían pasado ya cinco años y cinco meses desde que el rey Joaquín había sido llevado cautivo.
3 Yo, Ezequiel hijo de Buzi, era sacerdote, y ese día estaba en la tierra de los caldeos, junto al río Quebar, y la palabra del Señor vino a mí, y sobre mí se posó su mano.
4 Me fijé, y vi que del norte venía un viento tempestuoso, junto con una nube impresionante envuelta en fuego y rodeada de un gran resplandor. En medio del fuego había algo semejante a bronce refulgente,
5 y en medio de la nube se veía la figura de cuatro seres vivientes, todos ellos con apariencia humana.
6 Cada uno de ellos tenía cuatro rostros y cuatro alas.
7 Sus pies eran rectos, pero las plantas de sus pies se parecían a las pezuñas de los becerros y centelleaban como el bronce bruñido.
8 Tenían rostros y alas por los cuatro costados, y por debajo de sus alas tenían manos humanas.
9 Con las alas se tocaban entre sí, aunque al avanzar no se miraban el uno al otro sino que cada uno caminaba hacia adelante.
10 Visto de frente, su rostro era de aspecto humano, pero del lado derecho los cuatro tenían cara de león; del lado izquierdo tenían cara de toro, y por la nuca tenían cara de águila.
11 Así eran sus rostros. Por encima de ellos tenían extendidas dos de sus alas, con las cuales se tocaban, y con las otras dos se cubrían el cuerpo.
12 Todos ellos caminaban de frente, siguiendo la dirección del espíritu, y ninguno de ellos volvía la vista atrás.
13 El aspecto de estos seres vivientes era como el de brasas ardientes, o teas encendidas, que se movían entre ellos. El fuego era refulgente, y despedía relámpagos,
14 y con la rapidez del relámpago los seres vivientes corrían de un lado a otro.
15 Mientras observaba yo a estos seres vivientes, vi que junto a ellos, y en cada uno de los cuatro costados, había una rueda en el suelo.
16 El aspecto y la hechura de cada rueda era semejante al color del crisólito. Todas ellas tenían la misma forma, y parecían estar la una dentro de la otra.
17 Al avanzar, podían hacerlo en cualquier dirección, sin tener que dar marcha atrás.
18 Sus aros eran bastante altos, y las cuatro ruedas lanzaban destellos en su derredor.
19 Si los seres vivientes avanzaban, las ruedas avanzaban con ellos; si los seres vivientes se elevaban, también se elevaban las ruedas.
20 Siempre se movían o elevaban siguiendo la dirección del espíritu. Si el espíritu se movía, las ruedas también se movían, porque en ellas estaba el espíritu de los seres vivientes.
21 Si ellos avanzaban, también ellas avanzaban; si se detenían, también ellas se detenían; si se elevaban del suelo, también ellas se elevaban, porque el espíritu de los seres vivientes estaba en ellas.
22 Por encima de los seres vivientes podía verse una bóveda, semejante al cristal más hermoso, la cual se extendía por encima de ellos.
23 Debajo de la bóveda sus alas se extendían hasta tocarse la una con la otra, y con dos de sus alas cada uno de ellos se cubría el cuerpo.
24 Cuando caminaban, oía yo que sus alas sonaban como un conjunto de muchas aguas, como la voz del Omnipotente, como el estruendo de una muchedumbre, o como la alharaca de un ejército. Cuando se detenían, bajaban las alas,
25 de modo que al detenerse y bajar las alas podía oírse una voz por encima de la bóveda que estaba sobre ellos.
26 Sobre la bóveda podía verse el contorno de un trono, el cual parecía ser de zafiro, y sobre el contorno del trono podía verse sentado a alguien parecido a un hombre.
27 Vi también algo parecido al bronce refulgente, y en su interior y a su alrededor había algo parecido a un fuego; tanto de lo que parecían ser sus lomos para arriba, como de sus lomos para abajo, vi algo parecido al fuego, y esto estaba rodeado de un resplandor.
28 Ese resplandor que lo rodeaba se parecía al arco iris, cuando aparece en las nubes después de un día lluvioso.
Esta fue la visión que tuve de lo que parecía ser la gloria del Señor. Al verla, me incliné sobre mi rostro, y oí la voz de alguien que hablaba.
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month , in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.
4 ¶ And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 ¶ Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies. 24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings. 25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
26 ¶ And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it , I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.