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Venerdi, 29 marzo 2024 - Santi Simplicio e Costantino ( Letture di oggi)

Ezekiel 1


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1In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, as I was among the exiles by the River Chebar,heaven opened and I saw visions from God.2On the fifth of the month -- it was the fifth year of exile for King Jehoiachin-3the word of Yahweh was addressed to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in Chaldaea by the River Chebar.There the hand of Yahweh came on him.4I looked; a stormy wind blew from the north, a great cloud with flashing fire and bril iant light round it,and in the middle, in the heart of the fire, a bril iance like that of amber,5and in the middle what seemed to be four living creatures. They looked like this: They were of humanform.6Each had four faces, each had four wings.7Their legs were straight; they had hooves like calves, glittering like polished brass.8Below their wings, they had human hands on all four sides corresponding to their four faces and fourwings.9They touched one another with their wings; they did not turn as they moved; each one moved straightforward.10As to the appearance of their faces, al four had a human face, and a lion's face to the right, and allfour had a bull's face to the left, and al four had an eagle's face.11Their wings were spread upwards, each had one pair touching its neighbour's, and the other paircovering its body.12And each one moved straight forward; they went where the spirit urged them, they did not turn as theymoved.13Between these living creatures were what looked like blazing coals, like torches, darting backwardsand forwards between the living creatures; the fire gave a bril iant light, and lightning flashed from the fire,14and the living creatures kept disappearing and reappearing like flashes of lightning.15Now, as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel touching the ground beside each of the four-faced living creatures.16The appearance and structure of the wheels were like glittering chrysolite. All four looked alike, andtheir appearance and structure were such that each wheel seemed to have another wheel inside it.17In whichever of the four directions they moved, they did not need to turn as they moved.18Their circumference was of awe-inspiring size, and the rims of al four sparkled all the way round.19When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures leftthe ground, the wheels too left the ground.20They moved in whichever direction the spirit chose to go, and the wheels rose with them, since thewheels shared the spirit of the animals.21When the living creatures moved on, they moved on; when the former halted, the latter halted; whenthe former left the ground, the wheels too left the ground, since the wheels shared the spirit of the animals.22Over the heads of the living creatures was what looked like a solid surface glittering like crystal,spread out over their heads, above them,23and under the solid surface, their wings were spread out straight, touching one another, and each hada pair covering its body.24I also heard the noise of their wings; when they moved, it was like the noise of flood-waters, like thevoice of Shaddai, like the noise of a storm, like the noise of an armed camp; and when they halted, they loweredtheir wings;25there was a noise too.26Beyond the solid surface above their heads, there was what seemed like a sapphire, in the form of athrone. High above on the form of a throne was a form with the appearance of a human being.27I saw a bril iance like amber, like fire, radiating from what appeared to be the waist upwards; and fromwhat appeared to be the waist downwards, I saw what looked like fire, giving a bril iant light al round.28The radiance of the encircling light was like the radiance of the bow in the clouds on rainy days. Thesight was like the glory of Yahweh. I looked and fell to the ground, and I heard the voice of someone speaking tome.