1 I det trettiende året, den fjerde måneden, på den femte dagen i måneden, mens jeg var ved elven Kebar blant de fangne, ble himmelen åpnet og jeg så syner om Gud.

Now it came about in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, while I was by the river Chebar among those who had been made prisoners, that the heavens were made open and I saw visions of God.

2 På den femte dagen i måneden, i det femte året etter at kong Jojakin var blitt tatt til fange,

On the fifth day of the month, in the fifth year after King Jehoiachin had been made a prisoner,

3 kom Herrens ord til meg, Esekiel, prest, sønn av Busi, i landet Kaldea ved elven Kebar; og Herrens hånd var over meg der.

The word of the Lord came to me, Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldaeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was on me there.

4 Da så jeg en stormvind komme fra nord, en stor sky med en ild som flakket, med et klart lys rundt seg, og innenfor noe i midten med fargen som blank rav.

And, looking, I saw a storm-wind coming out of the north, a great cloud with flames of fire coming after one another, and a bright light shining round about it and in the heart of it was something coloured like electrum.

5 Og i midten var det fire levende vesener. Slik var de: de hadde utseende som et menneske.

And in the heart of it were the forms of four living beings. And this was what they were like; they had the form of a man.

6 Hver av dem hadde fire ansikter, og hver av dem hadde fire vinger.

And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.

7 Føttene deres var rette føtter, og sålene på føttene liknet føttene til en kalv; og de skinte som blankt bronse.

And their feet were straight feet; and the under sides of their feet were like the feet of oxen; and they were shining like polished brass.

8 Under vingene hadde de menneskehender på de fire sidene. De fire hadde ansikter og vinger.

And they had the hands of a man under their wings; the four of them had faces on their four sides.

9 Deres vinger rørte ved hverandre. De vendte seg ikke når de gikk; hver gikk rett frem.

They went without turning, every one went straight forward.

10 Utseendet på ansiktene deres var slik: de fire hadde et menneskes ansikt; til høyre side hadde alle et løveansikt; til venstre side hadde alle et okseansikt; og alle hadde et ørneansikt.

As for the form of their faces, they had the face of a man, and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four of them had the face of an eagle.

11 Slik var ansiktene deres. Deres vinger var utspente oppover; to vinger rørte ved hverandre, og to dekket kroppene deres.

And their wings were separate at the top; two of the wings of every one were joined one to another, and two were covering their bodies.

12 Hver gikk rett frem; dit hvor ånden gikk, dit gikk de; de vendte seg ikke når de gikk.

Every one of them went straight forward; wherever the spirit was to go they went; they went on without turning.

13 Mellom de levende vesenene var det noe som så ut som brennende kull, med flammer som beveget seg mellom de levende vesenene; ilden var lysende, og det gikk ut lyn fra ilden.

And between the living beings it was like burning coals of fire, as if flames were going one after the other between the living beings; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went thunder-flames.

14 De levende vesenene fór frem og tilbake som lynets flamme.

And the living beings went out and came back as quickly as a thunder-flame.

15 Mens jeg så på de fire levende vesenene, var det ett hjul ved siden av dem, på jorden, ved siden av hvert av dem.

Now while I was looking at the four living beings, I saw one wheel on the earth, by the side of the living beings, for the four of them.

16 Hjulenes utseende og konstruksjon var som beryll; alle fire hadde samme utseende og konstruksjon, og de så ut som et hjul innenfor et hjul.

The form of the wheels and their work was like a beryl; the four of them had the same form and design, and they were like a wheel inside a wheel.

17 Når de beveget seg, gikk de i alle fire retninger uten at de vendte seg.

The four of them went straight forward without turning to one side.

18 Hjulringene var fulle av øyne hele veien rundt alle de fire.

And I saw that they had edges, and their edges, even of the four, were full of eyes round about.

19 Når de levende vesenene beveget seg, beveget hjulene seg ved siden av dem; og når de levende vesenene ble løftet fra jorden, ble hjulene løftet opp.

And when the living beings went on, the wheels went by their side; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

20 Der ånden ville gå, dit gikk de; og hjulene ble løftet ved deres side: for ånden i de levende vesenene var i hjulene.

Wherever the spirit was to go they went; and the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

21 Når disse gikk, gikk de; når disse sto, sto de; når disse ble løftet fra jorden, ble hjulene løftet ved deres side: for ånden i de levende vesenene var i hjulene.

When these went on, the others went; and when these came to rest, the others came to rest; and when these were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

22 Over hodene til de levende vesenene var det liksom en hvellignende struktur som så ut som is, utspent høyt over hodene deres.

And over the heads of the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched out over their heads on high.

23 Under hvelvinga var vingene utstrakte, en mot den andre: hver av dem hadde to vinger som dekket kroppene deres på denne og på den andre siden.

Under the arch their wings were straight, one stretched out to another: every one had two wings covering their bodies on this side and two covering their bodies on that side.

24 Når de gikk, hørte jeg lyden av vingene deres som lyden av mange vann, som stemmen til Den Allmektige, lyden av en hær: når de sto, senket de vingene.

And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings.

25 Når de sto og senket vingene, var det en stemme fra over hvelvingen over hodene deres.

And there was a voice from the top of the arch which was over their heads: when they came to rest they let down their wings.

26 Over hvelvingen over hodene deres var det noe som så ut som en tronstol, liksom safirstein; og på noe som så ut som en tronstol var det en gestalt som så ut som et menneske, høyt opp.

And on the top of the arch which was over their heads was the form of a king's seat, like a sapphire stone; and on the form of the seat was the form of a man seated on it on high.

27 Fra det jeg så, så ut som midten av skikkelsen, oppover og nedover, var det som ild, og det var et lys som strålte rundt den.

And I saw it coloured like electrum, with the look of fire in it and round it, going up from what seemed to be the middle of his body; and going down from what seemed to be the middle of his body I saw what was like fire, and there was a bright light shining round him.

28 Som buen i skyen på en regnværsdag, slik var lyset som strålte rundt den. Slik var likheten til Herrens herlighet. Da jeg så det, falt jeg på mitt ansikt, og jeg hørte stemmen til en som talte.

Like the bow in the cloud on a day of rain, so was the light shining round him. And this is what the glory of the Lord was like. And when I saw it I went down on my face, and the voice of one talking came to my ears.