Bible Strands
Ezekiel 10:11
When they moved, they would go in any of the four directions, without turning as they moved. For wherever the head faced, the cherubim would go in that direction, without turning as they moved.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Ezekiel describes a vision of divine beings and their associated wheels during a revelation at the River Kebar. He details their coordinated movement as part of a larger theophanic display.
The words — The text uses יִסַּבּוּ (yi.Sa.bu) for "they turned" and אַרְבַּעַת רִבְעֵיהֶם ('ar.ba.at riv.'ei.he.m) for "the four sides." These terms emphasize the cherubim's ability to move in any cardinal direction without pivoting or changing orientation.
The thread — This description of unturning, directionally responsive movement appears in Ezekiel 1:17 and Ezekiel 10:22. The same pattern of immediate, spirit-directed motion links the cherubim to the wheels in Ezekiel 1:20.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to recognize the seamless coordination between the living creatures and their wheels. It presents a vision of divine mobility that operates without mechanical delay or physical constraint.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 1:17 As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved.
- Ezekiel 10:22 Their faces looked like the faces I had seen by the River Kebar. Each creature went straight ahead.
- Ezekiel 1:20 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.
- Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.