Ezekiel 10:2
in Ezekiel 10And the LORD said to the man clothed in linen, “Go inside the wheelwork beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
KJV
And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
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This verse in Ezekiel 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseCoals of fire - These were to signify the burning of the city by the Chaldeans. It seems that the space between the four wheels, which was all on fire, was that from which those coals were taken.
This site's exposition
the likeness of a throne of sapphire
on Ezekiel 10:1-2
The prophet sees “above the heads of the cherubim, the likeness of a throne of sapphire,” the throne of Ezekiel 1:26 taken up again. Judgment comes out of the sanctuary itself. The fire comes from under the throne, and the ruin is carried out beneath its eye.
This site's exposition
Fill your hands with burning coals
The man in linen now gets a second task. In chapter 9 he marked the faithful, and now he takes burning coals from among the cherubim to scatter over the city. Adam Clarke reads the coals as a sign of the Chaldeans burning Jerusalem.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 10, Verses 1, 2) And I saw, and behold, in the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim was as a sapphire stone: and the likeness of a throne appeared upon it. And he spoke to the man clothed with linen, and said: Enter between the wheels that are under the cherubim, and fill your hands with burning coals, which are between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he spake unto the man clothed with linen,....
He went in, and stood beside the wheels, expecting to be furnished there with the coals he was to scatter; for what Christ was to give he first received, whether for mercy or judgement. He was directed to take fire, but he staid till he had it given him, to show how slow he is to execute judgement, and how long-suffering to us-ward.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
He who sat on the "throne." the man--the Messenger of mercy becoming the Messenger of judgment (see on Eze 9:2). Human agents of destruction shall fulfil the will of "the Man," who is Lord of men. wheels--Hebrew, galgal, implying quick revolution; so the impetuous onset of the foe (compare Eze 23:24;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He spake - The person enthroned. The cherub - The particular cherub who was to hand the coals to destroy Psa 120:4; Isa 10:16; Rev 15:8.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
over the heads of the cherubim Over the heads of the four living beings of the Chariot. In this chapter, he switches over to calling them [all] cherubim because the face of the ox was transformed into the face of a cherub, as it is written in this chapter.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֜אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאִ֣ישׁ׀ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְבֻ֣שׁ | levush | <the> clothed of | H3847 → | 110 times |
| הַבַּדִּ֗ים | habadim | the linen<s> | H906 → | 23 times |
| וַיֹּ֡אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בֹּא֩ | bo' | go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּינ֨וֹת | beinot | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| לַגַּלְגַּ֜ל | lagalgal | <to> the wheel | H1534 → | 11 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| לַכְּר֗וּב | lakeruv | <to> the cherub | H3742 → | 91 times |
| וּמַלֵּ֨א | umale' | and fill | H4390 → | 249 times |
| חָפְנֶ֤יךָ | chafeneikha | cupped hands your | H2651 → | |
| גַֽחֲלֵי־ | gachalei- | coals of | H1513 → | 18 times |
| אֵשׁ֙ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| מִבֵּינ֣וֹת | mibeinot | from between | H996 → | 407 times |
| לַכְּרֻבִ֔ים | lakeruvim | <to> the cherubim | H3742 → | 91 times |
| וּזְרֹ֖ק | uzerok | and sprinkle [them] | H2236 → | 35 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעִ֑יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֖א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְעֵינָֽי׃ | leeinai | to eyes my | H5869 → | 887 times |
וַיֹּ֜אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאִ֣ישׁ׀the man
haishH376 →1663 times
לְבֻ֣שׁ<the> clothed of
levushH3847 →110 times
הַבַּדִּ֗יםthe linen<s>
habadimH906 →23 times
וַיֹּ֡אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
בֹּא֩go
bo'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּינ֨וֹתbetween
beinotH996 →407 times
לַגַּלְגַּ֜ל<to> the wheel
lagalgalH1534 →11 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תַּ֣חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
לַכְּר֗וּב<to> the cherub
lakeruvH3742 →91 times
וּמַלֵּ֨אand fill
umale'H4390 →249 times
חָפְנֶ֤יךָcupped hands your
chafeneikhaH2651 →
גַֽחֲלֵי־coals of
gachalei-H1513 →18 times
אֵשׁ֙fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
מִבֵּינ֣וֹתfrom between
mibeinotH996 →407 times
לַכְּרֻבִ֔ים<to> the cherubim
lakeruvimH3742 →91 times
וּזְרֹ֖קand sprinkle [them]
uzerokH2236 →35 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעִ֑ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וַיָּבֹ֖אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
לְעֵינָֽי׃to eyes my
leeinaiH5869 →887 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Revelation 8:5Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, and rumblings, and flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
it leads to
- Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven Spirits of God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake,…
- Acts 16:26
Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
- Revelation 4:5
Through
Isaiah 30:30And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:6
you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 18:13–14
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.
- Joshua 10:11
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by…
- Ezekiel 38:19–22
In My zeal and fiery rage I proclaim that on that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
- Isaiah 29:6
Through
Ezekiel 1:13In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out…
it leads to
- Psalms 104:4
He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.
- Psalms 104:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.