1. It was the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month of our captivity. I, Ezekiel, was by the Kebar River in Babylon. I was among the people who had been carried away as captives from the land of Judah. The sky opened, and I saw visions of God.
2. It was the fifth year that King Jehoiachin had been a prisoner. It was on the fifth day of the month.
3. The Lord spoke his word to Ezekiel son of Buzi. This was in the land of the Babylonians by the Kebar River. There he felt the power of the Lord.
4. When I looked, I saw a stormy wind coming from the north. There was a great cloud with a bright light around it. Fire was flashing out of it. And there was something that looked like glowing metal in the center of the fire.
5. Inside the cloud were what looked like four living creatures. They were shaped like men.
6. Each of them had four faces. And each of them had four wings.
7. Their legs were straight. Their feet were like a calf’s hooves. And they sparkled like polished bronze.