(The cherubim appeared to have the form ¹  of human hands under their wings.)

“‘Adulterous wife, who prefers strangers instead of her own husband!

I will make you pass under ¹  the shepherd’s staff, ²  and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

Each had four faces; each had four wings and the form of human hands under the wings.

The desolate land will be plowed, instead of being desolate in the sight of everyone who passes by.

I have made your forehead harder than flint – like diamond! ¹  Do not fear them or be terrified of the looks they give you, ²  for they are a rebellious house.”

So he said to me, “All right then, I will substitute cow’s manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it.”

These were the living creatures ¹  which I saw at the Kebar River underneath the God of Israel; I knew that they were cherubim.

But you, son of man, do not fear them, and do not fear their words – even though briers ¹  and thorns ²  surround you and you live among scorpions – do not fear their words and do not be terrified of the looks they give you, ³  for they are a rebellious house!

The Lord ¹  said to the man dressed in linen, “Go between the wheelwork ²  underneath the cherubim. ³  Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” He went as I watched.

They do not lie with the fallen warriors of ancient times, ¹  who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, having their swords placed under their heads and their shields on their bones, ²  when the terror of these warriors was in the land of the living.