³ There in Babylonia beside the Chebar River, I heard the Lord speak to me, and I felt his power.

⁴ I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. Lightning was flashing from a huge cloud, and the sky around it was glowing. Where the lightning was flashing, something shone like bronze. ^5 (A)At the center of the storm I saw what looked like four living creatures in human form, ⁶ but each of them had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight, and they had hoofs like those of a bull. They shone like polished bronze. ⁸ In addition to their four faces and four wings, they each had four human hands, one under each wing. ⁹ Two wings of each creature were spread out so that the creatures formed a square, with their wing tips touching. When they moved, they moved as a group without turning their bodies.

^10 (B)Each living creature had four different faces: a human face in front, a lion's face at the right, a bull's face at the left, and an eagle's face at the back. ¹¹ Two wings^[a] of each creature were raised so that they touched the tips of the wings of the creatures next to it, and their other two wings were folded against their bodies. ¹² Each creature faced all four directions, and so the group could go wherever they wished, without having to turn.

^13 (C)Among^[b] the creatures there was something that looked like a blazing torch, constantly moving. The fire would blaze up and shoot out flashes of lightning. ¹⁴ The creatures themselves darted back and forth with the speed of lightning.

^15 (D)As I was looking at the four creatures I saw four wheels touching the ground, one beside each of them.^[c]

¹⁴ Don't deny yourself a single day's happiness. If there is something you want to do and it is lawful, go ahead! ¹⁵ Some day all that you have worked for will be divided up and given to others. ¹⁶ So be generous; but also be willing to receive from others. Enjoy yourself, for you will not find any pleasures in the world of the dead. ¹⁷ The human body wears out like a piece of clothing. The ancient law decrees that we must die. ¹⁸ Human beings are like leaves on a spreading tree. New growth takes the place of the fallen leaves; while some of us die, others are being born. ¹⁹ Everything made by human hands will decay and perish, along with the person who made it.

The Happiness of Having Wisdom

^20 (A)It is a happy person who is concerned with Wisdom and who uses good sense.