Ezekiel 1:20

Complete Jewish Bible

Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, in the direction the spirit wanted to go. The wheels were lifted up next to them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Wherever the Spirit wanted to go, the creatures went in the direction the Spirit was moving. The wheels rose alongside them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Hebrew Names Version
Wherever the spirit was to go, they went; there was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

New American Standard Bible
Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

New Century Version
Wherever the spirit would go, the living creatures would go. And the wheels were lifted up beside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Amplified Bible
Wherever the spirit went, the beings went in that direction. And the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit or life of the living beings was in the wheels.

World English Bible
Wherever the spirit was to go, they went; there was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Whither the spirit led them, they went, & thither did the spirite of the wheeles leade them, and the wheeles were lifted vp besides them: for the spirit of the beastes was in the wheeles.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

Legacy Standard Bible
Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction, where the spirit was about to go. And the wheels rose alongside of them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Berean Standard Bible
Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Darby Translation
Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went, thither would [their] spirit go; and the wheels were lifted up along with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Easy-to-Read Version
They went wherever the spirit wanted them to go, and the wheels went with them, because the power that moved the living being was in the wheels.

George Lamsa Translation
Wheresoever the spirit was to go, they went, and the wheels were lifted up with them; for there was a living spirit in the wheels.

Good News Translation
The creatures went wherever they wished, and the wheels did exactly what the creatures did, because the creatures controlled them.

Lexham English Bible
Wherever the spirit went they would go there, and the wheels rose, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Literal Translation
There where the spirit was to go, there they went; there their spirit was to go, and the wheels were lifted up along with them. For the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whyther so euer the sprete wente, thither wente they also, & ye wheles were lift vp & folowed the. for ye sprete of life was in the wheles.

American Standard Version
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; thither was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Bible in Basic English
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.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, as the spirit was to go thither, so they went; and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

King James Version (1611)
Whithersoeuer the spirit was to goe, they went, thither was their spirit to goe, and the wheeles were lifted vp ouer against them: for the spirit of the liuing creature was in the wheeles.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Whyther soeuer the spirite [was] to go, they went, and thyther [was] the spirite to go, and the wheeles were lyft vp before them: for the spirite of the beastes were in the wheeles.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Wherever the cloud happened to be, there was the spirit ready to go: the wheels went and were lifted up with them; because the spirit of life was in the wheels.

English Revised Version
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; thither was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whidur euere the spirit yede, whanne the spirit yede thedur, also the wheelis suynge it weren reisid togidere; for whi the spirit of lijf was in the wheelis.

Update Bible Version
Wherever the spirit was to go, they went; there was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

New English Translation
Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel.

New King James Version
Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures [fn] was in the wheels.

New Living Translation
The spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings also went.

New Life Bible
Whatever way the spirit would go, they would go that way. And the wheels rose close beside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

New Revised Standard
Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
whithersoever the spirit was minded to go, they went - thither was the spirit minded to go, - and the wheels would be lifted up along with them, for the spirit of the living one was in the wheels:

Douay-Rheims Bible
Whithersoever the spirit went, thither as the spirit went the wheels also were lifted up withal, and followed it: for the spirit of life was in the wheels.

Revised Standard Version
Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Young's Literal Translation
Whither the spirit is to go, they go, thither the spirit [is] to go, and the wheels are lifted up over-against them, for a living spirit [is] in the wheels.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ As I gazed at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground, one next to each of the four-faced living creatures. ¹⁶ All four wheels looked the same: their inner parts gleamed like beryl, and their structure seemed to be that of a wheel inside a wheel. ¹⁷ When they moved, they could go in any of the four directions without turning as they moved. ¹⁸ Their rims were tall and fearsome, because the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. ¹⁹ When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved along with them; and when the creatures were lifted off the ground, the wheels went with them. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, in the direction the spirit wanted to go. The wheels were lifted up next to them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When [the living creatures] moved, [the wheels] moved; when the former stood still, the latter stood still; and when the former were lifted off the ground, the wheels were lifted up next to them; because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²² Over the heads of the living creatures was what appeared to be a dome glittering like ice; it was awesome, spread out over their heads, above them. ²³ Under the dome each had a pair of wings spread out straight toward those of others, and each had a pair which covered his body. ²⁴ I heard the sound of their wings when they moved; it was like the sound of rushing water, like the voice of Shaddai, like the noise of a tumultuous crowd or army. When they stopped, they lowered their wings.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the spirit: Ezekiel 1:12, 1 Corinthians 14:32

for the: Ezekiel 10:17, Zechariah 6:1-8

of the living creature: or, of life

Reciprocal: Exodus 25:20 - toward Ezekiel 1:21 - When those went Ezekiel 10:11 - whither Ezekiel 11:22 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 1:7
God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was,

Genesis 1:14
(A: ii) God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years;

Genesis 1:22
Then God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

Genesis 1:24
(A: iii) God said, "Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast"; and that is how it was.

Genesis 1:25
God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:30
And to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every kind of green plant." And that is how it was.

Genesis 2:19
So from the ground Adonai , God, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name.

Genesis 8:17
Bring out with you every living thing you have with you — birds, livestock and every animal that creeps on the earth — so that they can swarm on the earth, be fruitful and multiply on the earth."

1 Kings 4:33
King Shlomo was king over all Isra'el, and these were his high officials: ‘Azaryah the son of Tzadok, the cohen; Elichoref and Achiyah the sons of Shisha, secretaries; Y'hoshafat the son of Achilud, secretary of state; B'nayah the son of Y'hoyada, commander of the army; Tzadok and Evyatar, cohanim; ‘Azaryah the son of Natan, chief administrator; Zavud the son of Natan, the king's trusted counselor; Achishar, in charge of the palace; Adoniram the son of ‘Avda, in charge of forced labor. Shlomo had twelve officers over all Isra'el who were in charge of providing food and supplies for the king and his household; each one was in charge of provisions for one month out of the year. They were: the son of Hur, in the hills of Efrayim; the son of Deker, in Makatz, Sha‘albim, Beit-Shemesh and Eilon-Beit-Hanan; the son of Hesed, in Arubot; he also had charge of Sokhoh and all the territory of Hefer; the son of Avinadav, in all the area of Dor; he had Tafat the daughter of Shlomo as his wife; Ba‘ana the son of Achilud, in Ta‘anakh, Megiddo, and all Beit-Sh'an by Tzartan below Yizre‘el, from Beit-Sh'an to Avel-M'cholah, as far as beyond Yokme‘am; the son of Gever, in Ramot-Gil‘ad; he was in charge of the villages of Ya'ir the son of M'nasheh in Gil‘ad and in charge of the region of Argov in Bashan, sixty large cities with walls and bronze bars; Achinadav the son of ‘Iddo, in Machanayim; Achima‘atz, in Naftali; he also took Basmat the daughter of Shlomo as his wife; Ba‘ana the son of Hushai, in Asher and in Alot; Y'hoshafat the son of Paruach, in Yissakhar; Shim‘i the son of Ela, in Binyamin; and Gever the son of Uri, in the land of Gil‘ad, the country of Sichon king of the Emori and ‘Og king of Bashan. Over all these, there was one administrator in the land. Y'hudah and Isra'el were as numerous as sand grains on the seashore; they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.

Psalms 148:10
wild animals and all livestock, creeping reptiles, flying birds,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Whithersoever the spirit was to go they went,.... That is, the Spirit of God; wherever that leads and directs, whether in the paths of faith or duty, they follow; they walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; he guides their feet in the way of peace, and into all truth; and leads them in a right way to the land of uprightness:

thither [was their] spirit to go; their spirits or souls being regenerated by the spirit of God, are moved and actuated by him, and readily go where that directs:

and the wheels were lifted up over against them; that is, over against the living creatures; being by their sides going where they go, and being lifted up when they are:

for the spirit of the living creature [was] in the wheels; the same Spirit of God, which is a spirit of life, a quickening spirit, and a free spirit; which gives motion and liberty in religious exercises; that which is in the ministers of the Gospel is in the churches of God; there is but one Spirit, and ministers and members are actuated and influenced by it; see Ephesians 4:4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Whithersoever the spirit of the four living creatures was to go, the wheels went - there was the spirit of the wheels to go. All four creatures together with their wheels are here called “the living creature,” because they formed a whole, one in motion, and in will, for one spirit was in them.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezekiel 1:20. The spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. — That is, the wheels were instinct with a vital spirit; the wheels were alive, they also were animals, or endued with animal life, as the creatures were that stood upon them. Here then is the chariot of Jehovah. There are four wheels, on each of which one of the compound animals stands; the four compound animals form the body of the chariot, their wings spread horizontally above, forming the canopy or covering of this chariot; on the top of which, or upon the extended wings of the four living creatures, was the throne, on which was the appearance of a man, Ezekiel 1:26.