Ezekiel Sees the Lord's Glory
1-3 I am Ezekiel—a priest and the son of Buzi.
Five years after King Jehoiachin of Judah had been led away as a prisoner to Babylonia, I was living near the Chebar River among those who had been taken there with him. Then on the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, the heavens suddenly opened. The Lord placed his hand upon me and showed me some visions.
4 I saw a windstorm blowing in from the north. Lightning flashed from a huge cloud and lit up the whole sky with a dazzling brightness. The fiery center of the cloud was as shiny as polished metal, 5 and in that center I saw what looked like four living creatures. They were somewhat like humans, 6 except that each one had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, but their feet looked like the hoofs of calves and sparkled like bronze. 8 Under each of their wings, these creatures had a human hand. 9 The four creatures were standing back to back with the tips of their wings touching. They moved together in every direction, without turning their bodies.
10 Each creature had the face of a human in front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of a bull on the left, and the face of an eagle in back. 11 Two wings of each creature were spread out and touched the wings of the creatures on either side. The other two wings of each creature were folded against its body.
12 The four living creatures went wherever the Spirit led them, and they moved together without turning their bodies, because each creature faced straight ahead. 13 The creatures were glowing like hot coals, and I saw something like a flaming torch moving back and forth among them. Lightning flashed from the torch every time its flame blazed up. 14 The creatures themselves moved as quickly as sparks jumping from a fire.
15 I then noticed that on the ground beside each of the four living creatures was a wheel, 16 shining like chrysolite. Each wheel was exactly the same and had a second wheel that cut through the middle of it, 17 so that they could move in any direction without turning. 18 The rims of the wheels were large and frightening, and they had eyes all the way around them. 19-21 The creatures controlled when and where the wheels moved—the wheels went wherever the four creatures went and stopped whenever they stopped. Even when the creatures flew in the air, the wheels were beside them.
22-23 Above the living creatures, I saw something that was sparkling like ice, and it reminded me of a dome. Each creature had two of its wings stretched out toward the creatures on either side, with the other two wings folded against its body. 24 Whenever the creatures flew, their wings roared like an ocean or a large army or even the voice of God All-Powerful. And whenever the creatures stopped, they folded their wings against their bodies.
25 When the creatures stopped flapping their wings, I heard a sound coming from above the dome. 26 I then saw what looked like a throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the throne was a figure in the shape of a human. 27 From the waist up, it was glowing like metal in a hot furnace, and from the waist down it looked like the flames of a fire. The figure was surrounded by a bright light, 28 as colorful as a rainbow that appears after a storm.
I realized I was seeing the brightness of the Lord's glory! So I bowed with my face to the ground, and just then I heard a voice speaking to me.
MBONO YE KUTANGA YA EZEKIELE YE NDZIMU
Zwitjili ne gudzo le Ndzimu
1 Mu gole le bumakumi matatu, mu mwedzi we bunna, mu zhuba le bushanu le mwedzi ndili pakati kwe batapiwa pa gwizi gwe Kheba, kudzimu kwakazhuka ngono abona mbono dzinodwa ku Ndzimu. 2 Mu zhuba le bushanu le mwedzi kwakabe kuli gole le bushanu la Mambo Jehoyakini ali mu butapiwa, 3 dama la Yahwe lakazha ku mpirisiti Ezekiele nkololo wa Bhuzi, mu shango ye Khaladiya pa gwizi gwe Kheba. Simba la Yahwe lakabe linaye.
4 Ndakalinga bonani, abona dutu lidwa ku bunandzwa, abona gole gulugulu lina tjedza kulipoteleka ne lupenyo gwe moto gudwa mulili ngono pakati kwe moto kuna tjinolingika se bgwe linoyi tjibilo tjinothuta. 5 Pakati kwawo kwakabe kuna tjinolingika se zwibumbiwa zwinna zwinotjila. Ngono mbumbiko yazo ilingika seye nthu, 6 koga tjimwe ne tjimwe tjazo tjina njiso dzili nna ne mapapilo ali manna. 7 Makumbo azo akatambunuka, matshambo azo enga thozo dze phulu epenya se phangula ya kuyungiwa. 8 Kusi kwe mapapilo mu mbizho nna dzazo zwakabe zwina maboko e nthu. Ngono zose bunna zwakabe zwina njiso ne mapapilo. 9 Mapapilo azo akabe ekuthana. Tjimwe ne tjimwe tjazo tjiyenda mbeli tjakatambunuka ha zwiyenda tjisingabuyile ntome. 10 Njiso dzazo dzakabe dzilingika sahwoku, Tjimwe ne tjimwe tje zwibumbiwa izwezwi zwinna tjakabe tjina buso gwe nthu, ku lubizho gwe luji tjina buso gwe shumba, ku lumeshwe tjina buso gwe ng'ombe, shule tjina buso gwe dzu. 11 Njiso dzazo dzakabe dzakajalo. Mapapilo azo akabe akatambunukila pezhugwi, tjimwe ne tjimwe tjina mapapilo mabili, bhapilo limwe ne limwe likutha le tjimwe tjibumbiwa ngono mapapilo mamwe mabili akazwimba mbili watjo. 12 Tjibumbiwa tjimwe ne tjimwe tjakabe tjiyenda tjakatambunukila mbeli. Kumwe ne kumwe meya kwayakabe iyenda, zwakabe zwiyendako zwisingatendebuke ha zwiyenda. 13 Pakati kwe zwibumbiwa izwezwi zwinotjila kwakabe kuna tjinolingika se masimbe e moto anothuta kene se mavone e yenda yeno na yeno, moto wakabe upenya lupenyo gwe vula gudwa muuli. 14 Zwibumbiwa izwezwi zwinotjila zwakabe zwilabukila mbeli na shule se lupenyo gwe vula.
15 Ndakati ndilinga zwibumbiwa izwezwi zwinotjila abona gumbgwana pasi pawunde ye tjibumbiwa tjimwe ne tjimwe tjinotjila, tjimwe ne tjimwe tjazo tjina njiso dzili nna. 16 Ndingiko ne mbumbiko ye makumbgwana yakabe ilingika sahwoku, akabe epenya se dayimani, efanana nge mbumbiko, kuthamiwa kwawo kulingika se gumbgwana lili mu limwe gumbgwana. 17 Zwakabe zwiti ha zwiyenda zwiyendila ku lubizho gumwe ne gumwe kwakalinga njiso dzazo zwisingabuyile ntome. 18 Matantane azo akabe akakulila pezhugwi etjenamisa, matantane wose bunna akabe alizhele mesho pamwe ne pamwe pawo. 19 Zwibumbiwa zwinotjila zwakabe zwiti ha zwiyenda, makumbgwana eyendabo akazwibapisa, ha zwibumbiwa zwimilika kudwa mu shango makumbgwana anomilikabo. 20 Kumwe ne kumwe meya kwayakabe iyenda, zwakabe zwiyendabo, ngono makumbgwana akabe emilika nazo ngoti meya ye zwibumbiwa zwinotjila yakabe ili mu makumbgwana. 21 Zwibumbiwa zwakabe zwiti ha zwingayenda, makumbgwana eyendabo, ha zwingama, naiwo emabo, ha zwibumbiwa zwingamilika kudwa mu shango, naiwo emilikabo nazo, ngoti meya ye zwibumbiwa ili mu makumbgwana.
22 Pezhugwi kwe misholo ye zwibumbiwa zwinotjila kwakabe kuna tjinolingika se denga linopenya se makaa e vula lakaangila pezhugwi kwe misholo. 23 Ipapo kusi kwe denga mapapilo azo akabe akatambunudziwa e tjimwe ne tjimwe akalingisana ne e tjimwe, ngono tjimwe ne tjimwe tje zwibumbiwa tjina mamwe mapapilo mabili atjakazwimba mbili watjo ndiwo. 24 Ndakahwa nsindo we mapapilo azo ha zwiyenda, unga nsindo we vula njinji, unga nsindo wa Masimba Wose, kufanana ne phipiti ye ngwa. Ha zwima zoliga mapapilo azo. 25 Ngono kukazha hwi lidwa pezhugwi kwe denga lipezhugwi kwe misholo yazo, izo zwama zwaliga mapapilo azo.
26 Pezhugwi kwe denga pezhugwi kwe misholo yazo kwakabe kuna tjinolingika se tjigalo tje bushe, tjilingika se bgwe linoyi safire, pezhugwi kwe tjigalo kuligele tjinolingika se nthu. 27 Kutangisa pakabe pelingika se thunji dzidze kuyenda pezhugwi kwakabe kupenya se tjibilo, kunga moto kupoteleka, ngono kudwa ipapo kuyenda pasi kulingika se moto, tjedza tjinopenya tjakampoteleka. 28 Lupenyo gwakampoteleka gunga nlalabungu mu gole mu zhuba le vula ina. Bubuya kumpoteleka gwakabe gulingika saikoku. Iyeyi ndiyo ndingiko inofanana nge tjedza tja Yahwe.
Ndzimu unodana Ezekiele kube nlebesambeli
Ndakati ndiyibona awila pasi nge buso ngono ahwa hwi le mmwe elebeleka.