2 It was the fifth day of the month. Jehoiachin had been king of Judah. It was the fifth year since he had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner.
3 A message came to me from the Lord. I was by the Kebar River in Babylonia. The Lord put his strong hand on me there. I am Ezekiel, the son of Buzi. I'm a priest.
4 I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. I saw a huge cloud. The fire of lightning was flashing out of it. Bright light surrounded it. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal.
5 I saw in the fire something that looked like four living creatures. They appeared to have the shape of a man.
6 But each of them had four faces and four wings.
7 Their legs were straight. Their feet looked like the feet of a calf. They were as bright as polished bronze.
8 The creatures had a man's hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.