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Ezekiel 1:27

in Ezekiel 1

From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward; and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him.

KJV

And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

This verse in Ezekiel 1

Commentary

10 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

The color of amber - There are specimens of amber which are very pure and beautifully transparent. One which I now hold up to the light gives a most beautiful bright yellow color. Such a splendid appearance had the august Being who sat upon this throne from the reins upward; but from thence downward he had the appearance of fire, burning with a clear and brilliant flame. For farther particulars see the notes on Ezekiel 10 (note).

This site's exposition

a sapphire stone

on Ezekiel 1:26-28

Above the firmament stands a throne of sapphire, and upon it a likeness as the appearance of a man, the chapter's most careful sentence, likeness of the appearance of a man, because the prophet will not say more than he saw. Fire and amber brightness surround the figure from the loins up and down, and the whole is finally named, the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord, framed by the ordinary sign of a rainbow after rain so the reader has one familiar thing to hold onto. Calvin and Keil both stress the guarded grammar as reverence rather than vagueness, and the prophet's response matches it exactly, he falls on his face before he hears a word spoken.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Jerome

HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 56 (PS 146) · Written before 420.

proposed

In fact, even in Ezekiel, from what looked like from his waist upward God resembled amber, but from his waist downward he resembled fire. Whatever is above is gold, and whatever is below is ready for purgation in Gehenna.

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Ezekiel · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 27, 28.) And I saw something like the appearance of electrum, like the appearance of fire within it all around. From the appearance of his loins and upward, I saw something like the appearance of glowing fire all around, like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the splendor of the Lord's glory. When I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking. The electrum had the appearance of fire both inside and outside.

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 8 · Written before 604.

proposed

"And I saw something like the appearance of amber." And so that the holy prophet might show that he had seen the union of both natures in His person, he immediately added: "And I saw something like the appearance of amber." What is it that the appearance of a man is seen upon the throne as the likeness of amber, except that in amber, as we said far above, gold and silver are mixed, so that one thing is made from two metals? In which both the brightness of the gold is tempered through the silver, and through the brightness of the gold the appearance of the silver is made bright. But in our Redeemer both natures, that is of divinity and humanity, are united and joined to each other without confusion and inseparably, so that through his humanity the brightness of his divinity could be tempered to our eyes, and through his divinity the human nature in him would be made bright, and being exalted would have splendor beyond what it had been created with.

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 8 · Written before 604.

proposed

"As the appearance of fire within all around, from his loins and upward; and from his loins downward I saw as it were the appearance of shining fire round about." What is it that the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, is described as having the appearance of fire inwardly round about from the loins and upward, and from the loins and downward the appearance of shining fire round about? For we must investigate why from the loins and upward He is said to have fire inwardly, yet not shining fire; but from the loins and downward He is said to have the appearance of fire, yet it is not mentioned that He has it inwardly, because He is described as having it both shining and round about. For what is expressed by the name of loins, if not the propagation of mortality? On account of which it is also said of Levi that he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met Abraham. From the loins of Abraham indeed the Virgin Mary came forth, in whose womb the Only-begotten of the Father deigned to become incarnate through the Holy Spirit. From which incarnation God became known to the whole world, as it is said through the Psalmist: Gird your sword upon your thigh, O most mighty one. For the Most Mighty took His sword upon His thigh, because the word of His preaching gained strength from His incarnation. But what does this fire signify, if not the ardor of the Holy Spirit, who sets ablaze the hearts that He has filled? Of which the Truth Himself says: I came to cast fire upon the earth. […]

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Amber - In this colour does Christ appear against the rebellious Jews; he that would have visited them clothed with the garments of salvation, now puts on the garments of vengeance, expressed by such metaphors. Brightness - Majesty, justice, and unstained holiness, shine round about him.
3 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And I saw as the colour of amber,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

And the more we are acquainted, and the more intimately we converse, with the glory of God in these three branches of it, the more commanding influence will divine revelation have upon us and the more ready shall we be to submit to it, which is the thing aimed at in prefacing the prophecies of this book with these visions.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

colour of amber--"the glitter of chasmal" [FAIRBAIRN]. See on Eze 1:4; rather, "polished brass" [HENDERSON]. Messiah is described here as in Da 10:5, 6;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וָאֵ֣רֶא׀and I saw

    vaere'H72001300 times

  • כְּעֵ֣יןlike [the] appearance of

    keeinH5869887 times

  • חַשְׁמַ֗לa shining substance

    chashmalH28303 times

  • כְּמַרְאֵה־like [the] appearance of

    kemareh-H4758103 times

  • אֵ֤שׁfire

    ʾeshH784378 times

  • בֵּֽית־within

    beit-H10042046 times

  • לָהּ֙to it

    lah

  • סָבִ֔יב[was] all around

    savivH5439336 times

  • מִמַּרְאֵ֥הfrom [the] appearance of

    mimarehH4758103 times

  • מָתְנָ֖יוhips his

    matenavH497547 times

  • וּלְמָ֑עְלָהand <to> upwards <towards>

    ulemaelahH4605140 times

  • וּמִמַּרְאֵ֤הand from [the] appearance of

    umimarehH4758103 times

  • מָתְנָיו֙hips his

    matenavH497547 times

  • וּלְמַ֔טָּהand <to> downwards

    ulematahH4295

  • רָאִ֙יתִי֙I saw

    raitiH72001300 times

  • כְּמַרְאֵה־like [the] appearance of

    kemareh-H4758103 times

  • אֵ֔שׁfire

    ʾeshH784378 times

  • וְנֹ֥גַֽהּand brightness

    venogahH505119 times

  • ל֖וֹof him

    lo

  • סָבִֽיב׃[was] all around

    savivH5439336 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Hebrews 12:29

    “For our God is a consuming fire.”

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 9:3

      But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Deuteronomy 4:24

      For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

    • 2 Thessalonians 1:8

      in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

    • Isaiah 66:15

      For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.

    • Hebrews 10:27

      but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 4:24

    For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 12:29

      “For our God is a consuming fire.”

    • Nahum 1:6

      Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.

  • Through

    Psalms 97:2

    Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 89:14

      Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

Where this verse is studied

About Ezekiel

The Prophet Ezekiel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophet Ezekiel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Gregory the Dialogist, Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 1, Homily 8; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 56 (PS 146); Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Calvin, Commentaries on the First Twenty Chapters of the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.